The Aftermath: Aang's Book
by Gepetto
Summary: The War is over, but the Avatar is still needed. There's still discontent and anger in the world, waiting for someone to use it, and if the Air Nomads aren't found, the Cycle will fall apart. COMPLETE.
1. 50 Sentences Aang

First off, while I'm going to refrain from begging for reviews, it seems that people don't review all that often, and when they do, they review only once or twice. So it seems you need some incentive. I'm not going to be holding chappies for ransom, but I _will_ be offering a clue for every fifty reviews I receive. This clue might pertain to something happening currently in the series, or to the events of eleven centuries ago, which influence the current story rather heavily. It might involve other things, too, but it'll be relevant to one degree or another. Considering that even my beta (thank you, by the way, Mr. Ogro) is unsure as to what all is going to happen, and he's been given not just the outline for the story after this but also the ending for the entire series, and numerous other clues, I think you could use the clues. Reviews offering particularly interesting theories, or just plain use old evidence and clues in a new way, get a bonus point. As do reviews guessing at which of the other two one-sided Aangxsomebody ships are present in here (to clarify: they're unrequited from the "somebody" side, not Aang's- he hasn't got a clue). I'll give the bonus point to any reasonable explanation, even Aangko or Zuaang or whatever you kids call it nowadays (though I'll tell you right now that it _isn't_ that one- Aang would stab himself with a knife if he ever found that out).

This bit here is just a brief, erm, _spoiler_, you could call it, for lack of a better word. I'll be putting one of these 50 Sentences things up at the beginning of each of the stories for my _Consequences of Our Pasts_ series. Consider them fifty free clues, though they'll apply only to events happening within this story. All of these are from Aang's point of view, or relating to Aang, but be careful about assuming who "she" refers to-- There's at least two different people who are referred to as "she" and "her" and such. Some of them also apply to events which are not detailed during the story, but _did _happen to Aang.

The next chappie, and all those after, will be done properly, and take care to read them thoroughly, since there's at least two or three clues in every one.

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**The Aftermath: Aang's Book**

"_No, I'm not going to end it like this"_

—_Aang_

_#1 Walking – _Because he rarely flies now.

_#2 _Something's missing.

_#3 Wishes – _They aren't worth anything now

_#4 Wonder_ – Even now, he feels it when he looks at the world

_#5 Worry_ – Its something he always felt in her presence, once she started talking

_#6 Whimsy_ – As went on, he had less and less time for it, and then even less desire for it

_#7 Wasteland_ – You could always tell where a battle had been fought, but once it had been far worse, someone said

_#8 Whiskey and rum_ – Everyone agreed not to talk about it again

_#9 War_ – Not everybody wanted to go home

_#10 Weddings_ – They married young, but then again, they weren't _that_ young

_#11 Birthday_ – He wonders what his son is doing today, and if his son understands why he is not there

_#12 Blessing_ – Hakoda died only a few years after he had given it, and Aang couldn't help but make a connection

_#13 Bias_ – He hates that there's a part of him that's not surprised by what the Firebenders did

_#14 Burning_ – He can still remember how the forest smelled, when he fought Ozai, and he can smell it now, too

_#15 Breathing_ – In and out, forever, till it ends

_#16 Breaking_ – Nobody can stand firm forever, and everybody has a price

_#17 Belief_ – War made him sacrifice it, so that he wouldn't have to sacrifice his men

_#18 Balloon_ – The Mechanist wants to figure out how big he can make one, and how high they can go

_#19 Balcony_ – From here, he can see all the way down, to the bottom of the canyon

_#20 Bane_ – And _then_ they learned of the sort of fury which Gyatso had surely unleashed

_#21 Quiet_ – She never talked, when Aang visited

_#22 Quirks_ – We all have them, but sometimes they're not so innocent

_#23 Question_ – Why does he keep coming back to her?

_# 24 Quarrel_ – There are some things you can't take back

_#25 Quitting_ – He wishes he didn't have to keep on going

_#26 Jump_ – Just a little leap of faith

_#27 Jester_ – He was the first to fall

_#28 Jousting_ – Like an Agni Kai, but without fire, and on ostrich-horses

_#29 Jewel_ – A little bit of him, the Roku bit of him, remembered it

_#30 Just_ – Something he hears a lot, and says a lot, followed by another string of words

_#31 Smirk_ -- It was funny, how it could be so uplifting from Toph, and so terrifying from Azula

_#32 Sorrow_ – And Toph doesn't know, but he can see it behind her smiles

_#33 Stupidity_ – He can't afford it now

_#34 Serenade_ – He's horribly embarrassed by it nowadays, and Aang is glad that Katara fails to mention it

_#35 Sarcasm_ – He misses Sokka, and wishes Toph would talk to him

_#36 Sordid_ – When he got the answer, he wished he hadn't asked the older monk

_#37 Soliloquy_ – Aang walks through the Temple's halls, and there's nobody to talk to

_#38 Sojourn_ – They might have gone there, if any had survived the genocide

_#39 Share_ – Sometimes, talking about it doesn't help

_#40 Solitary_ – Aang doesn't talk to people much anymore

_#41 Nowhere_ – No matter how long he looked, there wasn't a trace of what he wanted to find

_#42 Neutral_ – What Would Bumi Do?

_#43 Nuance_ – Koh is in the details

_#44 Near_ – The boy never was, and so he knew only that Aang was the Avatar

_#45 Natural_ – He wondered if the Monks had felt like this, during the attack

_#46 Horizon_ – Hope is always just barely within sight

_#47 Valiant_ – The time for indecisiveness was past, but that didn't mean he knew that

_#48 Virtuous_ – After it gave way to mere survival on the battlefield, he couldn't pretend it hadn't changed him

_#49 Victory_ – When it came, he wondered if the price had been worth it

_#50 Defeat – _And then he remembered the other price he could have paid

* * *


	2. End and Begin

**Disclaimer:** This is where I'm supposed to remind everybody that this fic, which is on a _fanfiction_ website, is not mine. And it's not. However, it's still canon, because I'm working from the notes that Michael and Bryan sent me after they learned they weren't going to be able to create a second series. So, without any further ado, I present to you, the first story in the 100% official and canon series, _Consequences of Our Pasts. _

**

* * *

**

**Part One: Immediate Repercussions**

"_Appa's right, Zuko. In our group, typically we start our missions with a more upbeat attitude."_

—_Aang_

**Chapter One: End and Begin**

_Water Year 1102_

_Omashu, The Earth Kingdom_

But the year is meaningless to you, isn't it? You haven't got an idea as to how many years it's been since the war, and that whole "Water Year" thing just seems like a bad attempt to cash in on the Chinese "Year of the Whatever" style they've got. Except that you're kinda wrong. Maybe.

Think about it, and tell me what you think.

But you haven't got the faintest clue as to what to date means, and so I'll simply say that you may as well call this chapter "One Year Later."

I'd originally intended on that name but then you'd accuse me of ripping off of not just the Chinese, then.

---

"What has happened lately?" one might ask. It would of course be assumed that by "lately" the questioner means "since the war," and by "the war," one means, not "the War of the Five Cities, or even "the War of Chin the Conqueror," but the only war in memory to be so vast as to be called, simply, "_The _War." There would be many answers. The city of Omashu has been repaired, and Ba Sing Se as well, while reconstruction is going on in other places across the Earth Kingdom. And the damage sustained to the city in the North Pole had been fixed before The War's end, so don't think it's being overlooked or forgotten about.

But, speaking of Water Tribe cities, Aang and Katara are currently at the forefront of a project involving the construction of a city at the South Pole. Until the year 1040, there had indeed been a city there, but the Southern Tribesmen were, regardless, never exactly what could be described as "city folk." True, many of them lived in the city, but just as many more lived outside it, choosing instead to risk death in the icy wastes, and even most of those who lived in the city did not do so year-round. The cities at the two poles had originally been constructed for use during the months-long night which came every winter.

They were there to help everyone survive that time where the sun ceased to shine, temperatures fell, and simply stepping outside of the communal lodges (and the heat) could prove to be a death sentence in a matter of minutes for all but a Master Waterbender (or perhaps a Firebender of equal skill, and greater willpower). Those at the North Pole eventually grew so comfortable with their city that they gradually let go of their semi-nomadic history, but the Southern Tribe never forgot, and when the Fire Nation destroyed their great city, they merely fell upon the measures they had used before the city existed. Water adapts, and changes, and so did the South Tribe. Some were even, secretly, glad that the city— and the threat of ending up like their sedentary cousins on the other side of the globe—was no longer standing, though few liked that it had taken a war to do it.

It was, accordingly, proving very hard for Aang and Katara to get enough support, though they _are_ getting by, and the city should be mostly built sometime in late autumn of 1103. Some bits here and there will be missing, yes, but enough of the city will be built enough for its use that coming winter.

Currently, though, Aang and Katara are in Omashu (my, how the circle closes). It is a solemn time, right now. They, and the others, had witnessed much death during the War (although Jet's demise was rather ambiguous, and while they hadn't heard of him since, it's just possible he _might_ have survived), and they had thought that they would not be forced to witness another death for some time.

They were wrong, of course.

We all are vulnerable to the ravages of time, and no man lives forever.

Even a man like Bumi.

---

Bumi had been much beloved by his city, of course, and yesterday his funeral had been attended by nearly the entire populace of the city, and many more besides. He had been ill for many weeks, and by the time he had died, it had become obvious to all the Earth Kingdom— and the rest of the world— that it would happen. The inns had been full for days before his demise, all filled with people waiting for the procession to pass, and then stand by as his funeral was held.

Today, before he is put away, he is visited by Aang and his friends. They wished to pay their respects privately, and of course there can be no arguing with the Avatar. At least, no successful arguing, especially for something which was, in the scheme of things, as trivial as this. The Avatar requested— no, _demanded_, but demanded _politely_— that this be allowed, and so it was.

The room is small, with enough space for the nine people there, and Bumi's corpse, with a little left to spare.

Aang is wondering why he never asked Bumi about anything which had happened to him in the past hundred years. What stories could Bumi have told, and what wisdom could he have imparted? And he is sure that Bumi would have greatly enjoyed it. So why had he been so stupid as to not to think of asking him?

Beside him, to his right, Katara remembers how she first met Bumi. It had been so irritating at first, when she'd learned that it was all, in the end, some sort of massive prank on Aang (for that's what it really was, wasn't it?), but later on, she'd begun to think of it as one of the funniest things she'd ever experienced. Sure, she had thought she was in mortal danger at the time, but she was sure (really, she was) that Bumi wouldn't have let anything happen to her or Sokka, even accidentally. And as she remembers, she holds back a smile.

For is it not disrespectful toward the dead, to express joy on a day meant to observe their death?

Sokka is still somewhat irritated with the event, perhaps more out of habit than anything else, but he had grown rather fond of Bumi since the end of the War. He may have had a bad first impression, but Bumi was the only person Sokka would ever admit was funnier than himself. It was a matter of pride, really, when he placed his jokes above everyone else's, and partly true, too, but he didn't feel any harm to his ego in admitting that Bumi could (at times, that is, _at times_) be funnier than Sokka. Though it was simply Bumi's age, Sokka was sure. You can't live so long and not know a few jokes. If Sokka lives as long as Bumi, doubtless he'll have outclassed him by then.

Suki didn't really know Bumi all that well, but she respects (respected) him. While she may not have known what he was like personally, she knew his reputation, and that is more than enough to ensure that she feels greatly honored to stand here. But she wonders if she should feel this… _detached_. To her, Bumi is a great man, yes, but simply that: a great man (and funnier than Sokka, at times). Yes, he died, but… she hadn't even known all that much about him when she lived on Kyoshi Island. Not even how long he had lived (until meeting the man himself, she was thoroughly convinced that the name Bumi had simply been used by more than one king in a row).

Zuko stands by the door. He knows it's stupid, but he can't help but think that he could have somehow prevented this. If he had helped the Aang sooner, then perhaps the War could have ended sooner, as well. And if that had happened, there would have been no need for Bumi to exert himself so much in order to liberate Omashu. Surely, his actions during the eclipse couldn't have helped him deal with his great age, and it's very possible that it took just a little bit of his life off. Maybe a few years, maybe a month. Zuko doesn't know, and doesn't even know if it would have changed anything, but… it _might_, indirectly— _very_ indirectly— be his fault, and so this is yet another death he may have been able to prevent, had he simply realized what he had needed to do in time, which might have ended the War sooner.

Zuko is constantly second-guessing himself these days. He won't allow himself to just let things like this go. He's afraid that he might become like his father, if he forgets how important even one life is. Zuko is no fool; he's heard the stories Iroh has told him (how could he not? it's nearly impossible to drown out his uncle's voice) and he knows how the War was started. Sozin truly had the best of intentions, in the beginning, and even Ozai was not always so cold. Ursa never would have married him, if he hadn't been so much kinder, in the past. But Ozai stepped onto a slippery slope, just as Sozin had, and so many others, and Zuko will do whatever it takes in order to keep himself off of it, no matter how much pain and self-doubt it needlessly causes.

Mai simply leans into him, letting him know, even as deep in his thoughts as he is, that she is with him. She knows her husband all too well, and knows that she can do nothing to help him but make sure he knows she is always by his side. Mai will never let Zuko end up like Ozai, or Sozin, and he is aware of this, though subconsciously he wonders how she would be able to stop him. There's something else she feels, too, but she's keeping it safely locked up.

It hurts too much to acknowledge it.

Iroh is on Aang's left, and thinks back fondly on the last Pai Sho game they had played. For a man nearly twice Iroh's age, the king had played amazingly well— not that Iroh would have expected anything else, but he would have expected at least a _few _screws to be loosened in that time (and the obvious screws don't count since, according to Aang, they'd always been like that). Bumi's passing is sobering as well, though. He knows that he does not have much longer himself; citizens of the Earth Kingdom live so much longer than those from other nations, and Bumi was exceptionally fit and healthy, and a Bender besides. Maybe ten more years, and then Iroh will be lying here, just like Bumi.

Well, maybe not _exactly_ like Bumi, he decides, as he smiles (for he knows that to do is far from disrespectful— it is the most respectful thing one can do, for the dead do not wish for unnecessary sorrow, merely reverence) and places a White Lotus tile on the dead king's forehead just before the Jennomite crystal finishes its growth, enveloping his head. For one thing, he's not going to spent eternity surrounded by a casket of rock candy.

Maybe they'll let him marinate in some good, quality tea before they do the final rites on him. That would be nice, he thinks, and now, strangely, the memories go back now to the _first_ Pai Sho game they'd played. Perhaps it's only appropriate to think of first meetings, upon the final one.

Toph cannot truly see Bumi, but she can feel him, as she can feel everyone else. By the swift beating of his heart, she knows that Zuko feels some sort of guilt for this, and is glad that Mai is beside him. Toph rather likes the Fire Lord. She can sense Suki's confusion, and has an idea of what it means, since she feels more like Mai— whose situation is rather like hers— than anyone else. There's a calmness which only Iroh has, but _that's_ a different kind of calmness. More like a quiet little bit of joy. And Aang is trying not to slip into despair, is trying not let to let himself realize what this means, and she wishes she knew what to say. Then she wishes that she could do more than just say something to comfort him.

Bumi was one of the few people she truly respected. They had sparred together, and despite all her skills it was only in their last match that she finally beat him. Looking back on it, she considers the possibility that it was just a fluke. It had happened only days before Bumi started noticeably slowing down, and the city realized he would soon die. She'll give him that one, too, she decides. He'd won enough other matches with her that it didn't really matter one way or another. She had raw power, but he had the wisdom of a century and more to apply, and she was never all that surprised when she lost that first time.

Ty Lee is much like Iroh. She knows that Bumi wouldn't have wanted this sort of atmosphere, although she's also tactful enough not to point this out. She maintains a small, barely noticeable smirk through the whole thing, and doesn't say a word. Even as the Jennomite begins to crawl over his mouth, and now his eyes, and finally encases him completely, Ty Lee half-expects Bumi to suddenly jump up and start walking around, expressing his appreciation for all the nice things everybody said about him.

She had been able to meet Bumi quite a few times (she was able to say from experience that he was just as funny locked up in a big metal coffin-y thing as outside of one, and didn't seem to hold so much of a grudge that he wasn't willing to trade jokes with her during her brief stay), and it's _just_ the sort of thing Bumi would do.

---

A few minutes later, Bumi is lowered into the ground, and Toph and Aang then form another casket around him, this one a casket of stone, for the Jennomite will not last nearly as long. And the piles of earth are displaced by their Bending, and moments later there is but a single stone to mark Bumi's grave, for there is not another trace anywhere else.

As according to Earth Kingdom custom.

---

No man (or woman) lives forever.

Everyone dies.

This is important.

---

But there is something perhaps even more important to remember: Even though everyone dies, there is always, _always_, someone who is the last to die, someone who must live for the rest of their life (however long or short that may be) knowing that they have survived everyone else.

There are no known Airbenders left, save one.

Now, there is nobody left from the time of a hundred years ago, save one.

---

Right now, Aang is the last to die, and it will take decades for him to do so, at least from old age. He knows he will outlive Katara, as well, and many others. Airbenders live a long time. A very long time. Perhaps only Toph will survive _him_ (which, as he stares at the plot of ground covering Bumi, gives him a morbid sort of satisfaction; at least he won't have to be the last to die among _these_ people). Earthbenders live even _longer_.

---

After Bumi's burial, the nine gradually dispersed, falling away. Sokka and Suki had left first, and then Ty Lee, for she had originally come with them from Kyoshi Island, where they had been staying for the past few weeks. Then Toph departed, heading off to Appa. She was still trying to avoid her parents as much as possible, and had recently taken to following Sokka around, or Mai, or Iroh, or whoever else had caught her interest at the time, until growing bored and moving on to someone else (apparently Aang and Katara, now). There wasn't really all that much else to do. Even the tournaments lacked their previous appeal. She had outclassed them before, but _now_? It was almost criminal to take advantage of their inferiority, she had soon decided. She supposed she _could_ make a claim to the crown of Omashu, considering that she'd beaten Bumi, but she would only get tied down to one place. Besides, it wasn't even that sort of battle, just a sparring match between friends, so she didn't think it really counted.

Aang still stood above the layer of ground separating him from Bumi, and Katara walked off, realizing that he needed a moment alone. She goes over to Iroh, who is by Mai, who gently, lovingly pushes Zuko, snapping him back out of his thoughts once again, reminding him that he has something else to say.

He walked over to Aang, and opened his mouth once, closed it, and opened it again, beginning to speak. "Aang?" he said.

The Avatar took a moment to respond. "Yeah?"

"About the Air Nomads…" Zuko trailed off. What he was going to say wasn't even all that bad, but he couldn't figure out what to say, exactly.

"Yes?" Aang said, with a slight tone of hope.

"Like you found before," Zuko started back up, "there haven't been many mixed marriages over the years, few of them involved Benders, and, well, only a handful in all of _history_ involved Benders of two different elements. We didn't find anything mentioning much about their children, so we don't know what the results would be."

"So what's new?" Aang asked drearily. "Or have you decided to just tell me things I already know?" He didn't look at Zuko at all, but kept his gaze at the ground, and his hands hidden in the folds of his robes.

"I wanted to let you know that those sorts of marriages— between two different Benders— are becoming slightly more common in the colonies, now that we're more or less at peace."

_More or less_. There were still struggles, here and there, and not everyone believed that the Fire Nation had just picked up and left, but the end of this road was clear, and peace was surely, but steadily, coming.

Zuko continued on, saying, "So I've instructed the viceroyalty to keep a close eye on these marriages. In ten or twelve years, we should know for sure."

"Ten or twelve?" Aang echoed, finally seeming to take an interest in the conversation. "Most everyone starts Bending by five, or six, at the latest."

"But there may be a bit of a…" Zuko struggled to find the right word, "a bit of a _lag_, you see, as the two different elements struggle for dominance. Or something like that, anyways. I have a feeling that the Fire Sages were making it all a lot more complicated than it had to be, to get back at me for before."

"What'd you do?"

"I told them that I wasn't pleased about their sudden turn of face with the Avatar, when they sided with the Fire Lord instead of you, and Roku's memory."

"That was stupid."

"They're powerless right now, and I'd have replaced them moments after my coronation if it hadn't been for the fact that they should be dead of old age in a few years anyways. The Earth King, Kuei, wants you to know that he'll be watching any marriages in his territory, as well. At least, he'll start to in a few months."

"Why the wait?"

"There's talk of some dissidents in the Si Wong desert, raiding outlying towns, and they aren't Sandbenders, according to the reports. There's nothing really to it, of course. It's just a bunch of bandits, probably a couple, none of them connected to each other, considering the vast range of land these reports are coming from. But if he's going to be respected, then the Earth King can't tolerate even _bandits_, so he's going to have to focus most of his attention on searching the biggest, most inhospitable place in the world. At the very least, he'll have to catch at least a few people, doing _something_ bad, and then he'll be able to say that he's gotten rid of the dissidents, leave a good amount of soldiers in the desert to search for any other large groups, and focus his attentions on helping us."

"Thank you," Aang whispered.

"There's something else," Zuko said after a few minutes.

"Yeah?" Aang looked up. The Fire Lord bore a remarkable resemblance to his famous great-grandfather. Both of them, actually.

Zuko pushed something into Aang's hand, and he took it. "It's a book. Back when Mai was in Omashu, she spent most of the time talking to Bumi. He was about the only person she could stand. And after the War, she continued talking to him. Bumi probably told you a lot about what happened to him in the past century, but—"

"He didn't," Aang said neutrally. "We talked about it a little bit, but he always managed to change the subject."

Zuko knows why— _thinks _he knows why, at any rate. Bumi knew he wouldn't last forever, of course. No man that intelligent could believe otherwise. And Zuko had a suspicion that Bumi tried to keep as much of his past under wraps, precisely so that Aang would get as much as possible out of this, because "Mai wrote down everything they'd talked about. A lot of it is just random stuff, just classic Bumi— you wouldn't believe the things the two of them talked about— but mostly just about his past. Mai was too easily irritated by everyone else, and Bumi… well, he wasn't going anywhere back then," Aang cracked a small smile, though it quickly vanished, "and so they had a lot of time to talk."

"Thank you. Again."

"And one more thing, Aang, before I go. It's about Mai." Aang looked up him curiously. "You ever need somebody to talk to… The rest of us thought of him as a friend, but we didn't really know him all that well. But Mai… after you, I think that it's Mai who misses him he most. There's quite a few letters between the two, rewritten into the book."

He turned and walked away, leaving Aang with the book, a large, thick thing, with a leather cover.

---

Zuko stood there for a long time, Mai holding his hand tightly, as he spent just a few more minutes thinking. And then he left.

He felt sorrow at Bumi's death, of course. This has already been established. But the Fire Nation needed to be run, and there was so much for a new Fire Lord to do, especially after ending a century-long War.

_Water Year 1102_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Pai Sho, Zuko?" asked Iroh (the elder).

He gave it a moment's thought, and said "Sure."

Iroh cleared the table, set down the board, and removed two bags of pieces from a pocket. "You go first," he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

Zuko thought for a moment, and chose his move.

"You know," Iroh said as he considered, "you could say that it's Bumi's fault that I'm such a good player."

"And why is that?"

"He locked me up and wouldn't let me leave until I'd gotten good at it."

The Fire Lord tried to banish the resulting mental image from his mind, trying to figure out how it had even gotten in there. "You're… joking, right?" he asked hopefully.

"How do you win at Pai Sho, Zuko?" Iroh asked, and finally made a move.

"Think ahead, and always stay balanced." Zuko placed a piece on the board.

"I don't know why I'm saying this," Iroh scratched his chin, "but now is as good a time as any. Bumi reminded me that I'm not going to live forever, and... recent _impressions_ have convinced me that I should do this sooner than later."

"Do what?"

Iroh put down a tile next to his first. "Before he let me go, Bumi told me that he didn't just look at what I was going to do twenty or thirty moves from now, but twenty or thirty _years_. With Pai Sho, per se, he may have simply been being Bumi but then, that _would_ be like Bumi, wouldn't it?" He paused as Zuko put down another piece. "The other thing is that you need a contingency plan. Many contingency plans. The Order of the White Lotus is, itself, a contingency plan." Iroh looked up from the board, and seemed to forget about the game between them. "For the Avatar."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's look at recent events. When Aang disappeared, we— they— didn't know what had happened. For a long while, the Order had expected to find some sign of his presence, to discover that he was merely in hiding. So they used their informants within the Fire Nation, and organized searches of their own. Eventually," Iroh sighed, "they came to the conclusion that it was very likely that Aang had been killed in the Avatar State."

"And if that had happened…"

"Then there wouldn't be another Avatar," Iroh nodded. "But they had already formed a plan, specifically for this incident, within months of the first attack. It would take a long time, but the Order had been formed by _Pai Sho_ players. What _else_ would you expect?" Iroh laughed. "It culminated when Bumi captured me, and tortured me."

"Tortured you?"

"Yes," Iroh said grimly. And then he grinned. "Pai Sho! Twice a day! Every day! For _weeks _and _weeks_. I liked the game, but there was a point where it was just _too much_. And I couldn't just _fail_."

"Really? I somehow doubt that there could be too much Pai Sho for _you_."

"Because you didn't know me back then," Iroh stated. "Bumi always knew when I wasn't playing at my best, and he'd force me to play again until I did. But to cut weeks of _agonizing_ torture short, in the end, Bumi brought me around to his line of thinking. To the _Order's_ line of thinking. Balance was the key in Pai Sho, and in life. Do you have any idea was their plan was, Zuko?"

The Fire Lord shook his head. "Although I've got no doubt that I'll be hitting myself after you tell me."

"They knew they couldn't bring Sozin around, and Azulon was little better. But me? Once they found out about me, they realized that they finally had someone they could work with. Somebody they could bring around to their side. And once I became Fire Lord…"

"You could end the War," Zuko finished.

"Then, after Ba Sing Se, it was Ozai who became Fire Lord."

"So what was their contingency plan for _you_?"

"Good one, Zuko! Not as dull as you think you are. Stop being like that and give yourself some credit. After all, their plan was _you_."

"I'm sorry, Uncle, I must have—"

"_You_, Zuko. From the moment I joined the Order, my principal goal was to join the bloodlines of Sozin and Roku. Your father wasn't as bad as he'd become in later years, Zuko, and he truly fell in love with your mother, once I introduced the two of them to each other. It took a couple of years to become trusted by her, and I still don't take it lightly, but in the end, your parents married, and they had you. I would have taught you the things I did anyways, of course, even if you weren't a back-up plan, but the fact that you _were_ added extra urgency to things. Under other circumstances, I would have taken things slower."

"But what about Azula?"

"We didn't know that someone like Azula would come into the picture, and as firstborn, we didn't see how your position was at risk. Still, I was prepared for that possibility, and when I began to see what sort of person Azula was turning out to be, I was, secretly, happy that it wouldn't be too hard, though the fact that I could see myself doing such a thing to my own blood gave me troubles of another kind."

"You were going to kill her?"

"Azulon, and Sozin before him," Iroh sighed, "both died under circumstances which could be rightly described as 'suspicious.' Once I could be sure of what path you would choose, Ozai would have perished similarly, and Azula, too, once she came into the picture, and became a contender for the crown. And while some might doubt your sincerity, the people follow the crown, not the man who wears it, and within a few years, dissent would have vanished in all but a very few among the nobility. The Order was founded by Pai Sho players. Always remember that. It was foolproof, and we had enough fools— though another term might be 'mad geniuses,' I suppose— to prove it for us."

"Why are you telling me this? I don't see how this will help me at all. I mean, it's nice that you had so much faith in me, and that's kinda reassuring, but…"

"I'm telling you this, because I'm not going to be around forever, and the Order needs to stay around. And it needs to be led by someone like you, Zuko." Not letting him get so much as a second to say anything, Iroh picked up a White Lotus tile. "Now, let me tell you about the history of the Order. Do you know what happened one thousand, one hundred, and three years ago?"

Zuko shook his head.

"Not surprising. Few do, outside of the Order. We tried to keep it that way, so that people wouldn't get any funny ideas."

"Funny ideas?" asked Zuko, confused.

"Like the idea your great-grandfather Sozin got, about conquering the world. You see, just slightly more than eleven-hundred years ago, during the time of Avatar Hahn, the bloodiest War in all of history began…" Iroh continued to talk, and spoke of many things, not least of which was a nation which spanned the globe, the seemingly invincible madman who created it, the society founded to defeat him, and the effort they undertook to make sure that it would never happen again.

Those who do not learn from history may be doomed to repeat it, but it's also true that some people learn the wrong lessons, and purposely repeat it.

Like Chin the Conqueror.

Like Sozin.

Like one more, whose fall would never have been expected, until it was far, _far_ too late.

The circle goes round and round, and when it closes, it continues once again.

_Water Year 1102_

_Chung-ling, The Fire Nation_

This is a nice room, by most standards. Perhaps not the pinnacle of luxury, but certainly nice. Yes, true, the walls are bare, but let us look at other things.

There is a fine bed in the center. Silk sheets and pillows stuffed with the feathers of turtleducks. A cabinet to the side, made of the finest oak in the Fire Nation. Within it is more silk. Silk clothes, all a brilliant red, and many with rich patterns stitched into them.

There is a table here, a few feet in front of the bed, and it is no less luxurious than the other pieces of furniture here. Upon it is a silver bowl, and a set of chopsticks, wooden, carved from mahogany, and the bowl is full to the brim with rice. It does not appear as if the chopsticks have been touched, or the rice even so much as breathed upon.

There are two chairs here. One with its back against the bed, and the other on the opposite side. One chair— the latter— is empty.

Upon the other sits a girl, blank-eyed and motionless, sitting still for hours.

Staring at the wall.

---

Aang. Aang. Aang. Zuko. Aang. Aang. Zuko. Aang. Aang. Aang. Aang.

---

On and on and on we go.

---

Some time later, the rice is eaten. Or it is not. It differs day to day.

---

Some time later, she sleeps in her bed. Or she does not. The table serves as her head's resting place as often as the feather pillows.

---

Some time later, she thinks of Aang. _This_ is the only definite, for she thinks of him even now, even when she thinks of Zuko, and she'll think of him even in her dreams.

---

When she does dream. _That_ is not a definite, either.


	3. Highest Punishment

Some people have asked me if I was being serious about Mike and Bryan. I wasn't. I'm tired of these disclaimers on a _fanfiction_ site, and decided to create as many different stories about how I am, in fact, able to say that I own the series, or otherwise have the ability to make this "official" or whatever. Mike and Bryan aren't even aware that I exist. On the other hand, it made me realize that what I said was actually plausible. I haven't given a single bit of info about myself on my profile, after all. Which makes me wonder: Could Mike and/or Bryan be on this site right now, under pennames, writing Avatar "fanfiction"? Why, they might be testrunning ideas for the new series on here... After all, if the people like the concept of a certain post-Aang story (according to what I've heard, the new series will be post-Aang) then it would make sense to use it, while changing enough stuff so readers of the original version wouldn't automatically know what was going to happen.

_Free Clue (of questionable use): _Many of the characters (including those in The Aftermath) of this series are reincarnations of earlier characters. While individual souls do not pass down, the patterns/archetypes _do_. To give an example, Azula, while still possessing her own soul, is also the latest in a long line of pattern-types dating back more than a thousand years, when she (or he, possibly) had a choice between the Avatar and her life's goal (in Azula's case, it was power, but it could be different for any number of her past lives). Whichever the choice was, she was more than just a little conflicted over it, to the point of going completely and totally insane (similar to how you see her now). She'll continue to reincarnate, and continue to be presented with this choice, until such time that she makes a decision which she can finally deal with. Toph would be another example, and those of you who are fond of a certain theory should already know what would need to happen for _her _pattern-type to be resolved. Reincarnations don't have to happen right away, either. Toph is the first time her pattern-type made an appearance after its initial creation. And simple archetypes such as the one referred to as "the Companion" among certain people also continue to get passed down along the ages, even though they don't have any specific origin or method of resolution (at least, none known).

Good luck seeing if you can figure any sense out of that. Worst case, you're slightly confused and have at least a little bit of information which isn't entirely necessary to know, but adds a bit of explanation. Best case, you're a bit closer to understanding where things are going, and perhaps even what certain characters are going to do.

* * *

_Review Replies:_ I've often seen replies to reviews within the stories, which makes sense, since other people will also probably be asking those questions. On the other hand, what never makes sense is that nobody ever posts the original question, so that other people can understand the context of the answer.

_Ogro: Are you purposely naming your OCs after original characters? Like Avatar Hahn. _I am indeed. I figured that I'd rather name people after existing characters, and so ensure that they were genuine names for that culture, than make something up and possibly screw it up.

_I liked how Zuko mentioned that Aang could talk to Mai- it would have been nice to see a conversation like that. They almost never interact in fanfiction (or canon, actually). Think you can add that for a future chapter...? That's something I'd like to see. _Not within this story, but I plan on doing other oneshots for various scenes not taking place within this story. I just don't feel that I can do the AangxMai conversations much justice in the limited space I would have for them.

Total Points: 6  
_

* * *

_

**Chapter Two: Highest Punishment**

_Water Year 1103_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Fire Lord Zuko," the man stated quietly. "We… worry for your safety."

"For what reason?"

"We believe that there is to be another assassination attempt on your life."

Zuko smiled. "I've survived the last few, haven't I? I appreciate your concern, but really, I think it's not _entirely_ as necessary as you think. I thank you, though, for alerting me to the situation, and if there is anything further which you believe I should know, then please tell me. If not," Zuko said, "then please leave my guest and I in peace, so that we may have the conversation for which he is here. I don't wish to waste his time."

"Of— of course, Fire Lord," he said, and gave a quick bow before scurrying off.

"Oh, and Bujing?" Zuko called.

The man stopped in mid-movement, and swallowed. "Yes?"

Zuko walked a dozen steps forward, and stopped by the man's side. "Do whatever you feel you must, to ensure the safety of myself and all others here at the palace. I don't mean to appear as if I discount the danger, I merely feel that you're worrying a little too much." He gave another smile, but stopped, when he realized that it was more worrying to the man than reassuring. He'd have to work on getting rid of the belief that a smiling Royal meant something bad. "I do not believe I am in as much danger as you seem to think, not because I believe it is nonexistent, but because I trust you, Bujing. You're an intelligent man, and I know that _you _know how to protect me. So between you and my wife," Zuko idly wondered why there was a need for any further security, with Mai around, "why should I worry?"

"Yo—your wisdom is great, Fire Lord," and Bujing bowed slowly, so as to not appear disrespectful, and then took off faster than Zuko had thought possible.

"Now then," Zuko said, turning around and heading back to the table. He faced his guest, a tall, broad-shouldered man from the Earth Kingdom. "I hear that your men are doing well. Is that true?"

"Yes. There is not much use for us now, and we were indeed fearing that something worse would happen, but the Earth King has not done more than simply ordering us to return to our homes."

"And it is my understanding that you wish to do more than this?"

"Peace is… _nice_, peace is what was the defining word of Ba Sing Se, after all, but…"

"But this is _real _peace, and that kind of peace is dull. Peace lets you and your talents waste away."

The man nodded. "Exactly, Fire Lord Zuko. We want to do something more than just plow fields, or wander with the merchant caravans. There's more we could do than just that, but, frankly, each option seems just as unappealing as the last. We need _something_ to stay active."

"Well then," Zuko said slowly, "I've been advised that I can, in fact, somehow trust you. And I can certainly see how you'll be a massive help to certain future endeavors. So do you hereby pledge loyalty to the Fire Lord?"

The reply was swift. "Yes."

"And will that loyalty continue through the ages, for every Fire Lord who has _justly_ earned the crown?"

Again, the answer came. "Yes."

"Then I, Fire Lord Zuko, do hereby reinstate, with full privileges, and authority under the Fire Lord, the place of the Dai Li, as agents of the crown, throughout the whole world." Zuko paused. "Make sure that your people are… _inconspicuous._ You were feared by the people of Ba Sing Se because you were omnipresent in the city, and your power was all-encompassing. I want you to be feared by _other_ sorts of people, now. And I want them to be afraid because you are ghosts, striking from nowhere and vanishing into the air, without a single piece of evidence relating to your presence. The people you hunt will fear you, not just because of your power, but because it is impossible to escape, and equally impossible to find you.

"I want _nothing _to connect you to your actions," the Fire Lord said, "and if you are, you will find no protection from me."

The man smiled. "Of course."

---

_Water Year 1103_

_Chung-ling, The Fire Nation_

"So how is life treating you, Fire Lord Zuko?" Aang smirked as he said it. Zuko would always get so irritated with it ("You're my friend! You don't need to use titles like that!") and didn't quite seem to realize that this was precisely why Aang did it.

"It's treating me quite nicely indeed. I can't understand why _anyone _would want to rule a country, though. All that ashen _paperwork_!"

"You've said that a lot, Zuko," Aang pointed out. "This way?" He said, pointing down a long corridor in the asylum.

Zuko nodded. "And? It's still true, isn't it?"

"So, do you know how Azula is doing? I know I haven't been able to come for a few months, but…"

"But being the Avatar is busy. Don't worry, I've started visiting," Zuko reassured him. "I'm not happy with it, but I didn't think that you'd want her left alone."

"She doesn't seem all that dangerous, under the drugs. Not all that talkative, but—"

"But that's the only reason I'm willing to visit her when you can't. And it's also the reason we've come here."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I need you to teach me how to… how to…" Zuko couldn't figure out how to say it. "whatever it is you did, Aang. When you took my father's Bending away."

Aang looked at the Fire Lord curiously. "You're going to take away Azula's Bending? Why? She's safe enough with the drug suppressing her Firebending, Zuko."

"I know, I know. But I've been thinking about it, lately, and we need something less messy than the executions. But something still as severe.

"You don't know what you're asking," Aang said.

"No, I don't. But this needs to be done. I don't see any other way. What if she got off the drugs? She's already done it once, and you know it's bound to happen again. Azula always has something planned."

"But you're going to do this to more people than just Azula, aren't you?"

"Yes. Would you rather they be burnt to death, like we do now?"

"How are you going to handle all those people?"

"I wouldn't. I was going to ask you about this next."

"Even between the two of us—"

"No, no. I was going to train others to do it. People you approved, of course."

Aang leaned against a stone wall, breathing slowly. After a minute, he spoke again. "This is where we're going, isn't it?"

"Yes. We took an alternate route."

"You could have told me, instead deciding to spring it on me."

"I'm sorry," Zuko said. "Will you do it?"

…

"Aang?"

"Yes. Bring me to her," he sighed. "But make sure you take her off the drugs, Zuko."

He didn't know why he wasn't doing this, really. It wasn't so that Zuko could have some new punishment to bestow, it wasn't to give Azula what she deserved, it, it wasn't to stop the killing, or anything else like that… He just wanted her taken off the drugs.

They resumed walking, but there was only silence, and it felt like an eternity before they reached Azula's room. At Aang's private request, the conditions were not too horrible, or even horrible at all. Only slightly worse than a member of the Royal Family would have expected to receive in prison.

There was a large bed in the center of the room, and near it was an oaken wardrobe, filled with silk clothing and some of her belongings (all of her belongings, really, for she did not own anything beyond what was in this room) and she was sitting at a table, with her meal in front of her (and this was _not_ a prison, he told himself. it was an asylum).

Time had not been kind to the one-time Fire Lord. Her hair had been mostly scorched away, from that one time she got off the drugs. What remained looked as if the color had been almost completely bleached away. She stared at the wall, unblinking, and her eyes were just as pale as always. Had he not known better, he would have sworn that she was blind. Her skin clung tight to her bones.

The drugs had been less kind to her than time had.

"Funny," Zuko said. "She was just like that a few hours ago."

Aang shook his head, and moved around, to get a better look at her. "You've never really paid much attention to her, have you?"

"I'd come in once a week, for an hour or so."

"An hour more than you'd ever needed to. Don't think I'm irritated or anything. But this is how she is, a lot of the time."

Azula suddenly shifted, and Zuko twitched, about ready to attack, before he remembered that she wasn't a threat. She reached for a piece of bread and broke off a corner, putting it in her mouth. Zuko could barely see her mouth move, as she slowly chewed it.

Aang took the only other seat in the room, placing it in front of Azula, and something shifted in her eyes. "Hello, Azula," he said. "Sorry I've been gone for so long. Anyways, you might be glad to know that we're going to take you off the drugs. I'm going to be taking your Firebending, but that's no different from now, right?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't know," admitted Aang, and he got up and walked around the table until he stood behind her, and placed his hands upon her head. "I keep on thinking that if I continue to come back, then I'll figure out why I starting coming to see her in the first place. Now, please be quiet, and watch. I'll explain what I've done after I show you."

Aang closed his eyes and bowed his head, and collected his energy within himself, gathering it together. Preparation was needed. He allowed it to coil endlessly, gaining pressure, ready to strike out and batter against Azula's unprepared soul.

He released, letting his energy flow into her in a burst of light. Aang immediately encountered resistance— fierce resistance. It was worse than Ozai, and he marveled at how she had such strength even now, but then it cracked, and he pushed harder, forcing himself through until she suddenly gave way, and Aang reflexively tried to end it, but to no effect. Ozai had possessed incredible force, and until Aang had managed to reverse it and defeat him. Azula was even worse, but she was not trying to force herself into his soul.

Aang struggled to escape, and would have screamed if he could. Azula pulled his essence ever further into her soul, devouring it hungrily, changing faster than he ever had thought possible. He was certainly winning, as far he could tell, but yet again Azula unnerved him, for _she_ was forcing him to do this now. He himself had given up fighting either to change her or escape her.

As his spirit flowed through her, he began to feel her soul, as he had done with Ozai. Energybending gave one a complete knowledge of the other, an awareness more intimate than anything else could possibly give, but here again, Azula surprised him. There was nothing repressed, nothing carefully hidden. No planned manipulations. Only desire.

Complete and total _want_.

_Hunger_.

A craving stronger than anything he had ever experienced in his life before, or ever witnessed. Opium addicts had less yearning for the drug than Azula did for… _everything_.

And then the process was complete

Azula collapsed headfirst, near her plate, and Aang staggered, clinging to her chair for balance.

"Are you alright?" Zuko asked.

The Avatar nodded. "I just need a moment. I didn't expect _that_ at all."

"I'm sorry. I should have realized that even with the drugs—"

"You didn't do anything. You couldn't have known. I was expecting her to be… difficult. I just didn't expect things to turn out like this."

"What happened?"

"There wasn't any resistance," Aang said, and he let go of the chair, walking back to the door slowly. "It was almost as if… almost as if she _wanted_ it. I don't know," he said, shaking his head. "I'll try and make sense of it later." He stopped at the entrance, and looked back. "You know, the way she is now, the way she's been since she was under the drug… I never would have thought… I can barely believe it even now, that she's the same person who tried so hard to kill us."

"I'll believe it for the both of us, then. Let's go," Zuko said, and he pulled gently on the sleeve of Aang's yellow robe.

"So are you and Mai going to be coming to the South Pole next month?" Aang asked.

"Ah, yes. I'd almost forgotten," Zuko joked. As if he could ever possibly forget, with all the badgering his children had been giving him for the past six months, ever since their _last_ visit. "I just need to clear up a few things, and then Mai and I should be ready to be mysteriously gone for a week or so." Zuko frowned. "You've got _no _idea how hard it is to not just _keep up_ with all these ashen bureaucratic matters, but then _get ahead_."

"It'll be worth it, Zuko. I'm betting Azariya and Iroh are missing their little friend."

"Which one? The cute Iroh or the tea-addict Iroh?"

Aang laughed, and got a thoughtful look on his face. "Both, I suppose. Though your uncle might ask why you're referring to your youngest son as a tea-addict," he said, and then it was Zuko who laughed.

"I'm still wondering what they were doing when they named the kid what they did. What kind of name is 'Jojo?' Sounds like a name you'd give to a polar bear dog."

"Hey! It's a fine name, with a fine history behind it. Why, for starters, there's— well, _okay_. It _is_ a stupid name, and I'm going to spoil the kid rotten to ease the pain, but… long story short, Sokka is whipped, and you should never take naming advice from Suki."

"Wasn't planning to." Aang looked at the Fire Lord. "Do you think you'll ever release her? Now that she hasn't got any Bending?"

"I doubt it. It would be just our luck to find out that it can be overcome somehow, or removed by somebody else."

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep coming back."

---

_Water Year 1103_

_Maniyok, The South Pole_

When he arrives, Zuko is amazed by the sight before him. Towering walls bordering the sea, and by the time the city is finished, it will utilize the same water-locking system as its counterpart at the North Pole. Massive pillars reach up toward the sky, connected by raised platforms and countless gondolas. Vast staircases adorn the buildings, allowing progress to these places, while the ground is covered by hundreds— _thousands_— of temporary living quarters. Every hundred feet, from any location, the entire area can easily be converted toward defense, and be rendered nearly impenetrable, and if even these measures fail to stop an attack, then the population can retreat up the stairways, collapsing the structures behind them and using the gondolas to travel from tower to tower. Subterranean passageways will be added soon enough, both to take advantage of the heat below the surface (for they will go down hundreds of feet, in the end) and to add yet another way to strike back at an attacking force.

Zuko is not troubled by such an emphasis on defense. They would be fools not to, and it also goes to show just how far they will go to ensure that this city never falls again. If the Northern Tribe had been so hard to defeat, then how much more so for _this_ place, which will in the end be capable of containing not just the entire population of the South Pole even generations from now, but the North Pole and the Swamp as well, and still have room to spare.

The Fire Lord can make out where there will be storehouses in the future, and his eye easily notices the lodges, already finished, where much of the city's population will dwell during the long winter night.

Zuko shivers at the thought of an entire _season_ without Agni looking down upon him.

And again, he marvels at what he sees.

---

Three years ago, Maniyok had not been even so much as a dream for the Southern Water Tribe. Decades ago, their great city had been destroyed, and its people scattered.

Two years ago, the War was ending, one way or another, but the people had scarcely begun to dream. There was work to do, and damage to repair. Only a few began to travel to the ruins of their city.

One year ago, construction had begun in earnest, as Waterbenders arrive from Sinaliarpok at the North Pole, and the scattered communities from the Swamp. It's only a trickle at first, but every hand which isn't need elsewhere eventually finds itself at the site. Progress is remarkably quick, to those who are unfamiliar with the methods of construction these people use. Even in the Earth Kingdom, where stone may be manipulated with a mere thought by those capable of Bending, the _proper_ sort of stone must still be found.

But at the South Pole, the ice is _everywhere_.

---

"Zuko!" Aang called, and the Fire Lord quickly tore his focus from the city itself to the Avatar. He wondered if he'd be able to ever see him the same way again, and shrugged. It didn't matter all that much. Taking one last glance behind him, where Iroh was talking excitedly to a Water Tribesman who by the looks of him had no idea why he had suddenly been pulled into this conversation, Zuko pulled at the collar of his thick coat— Thank Agni it was autumn here, when there'd actually be something resembling a "normal" day-and-night cycle— he made his way to Aang, following after Mai and his children.

Aang smiled as Azariya and Iroh ran toward him, and frowned comically, as they ran _past_ him, and within a moment they had gone around a building, shouting "Jojo!" repeatedly, excitedly, though they occasionally interspersed it with calls of "Uncle Sokka!" who could always be counted on to slip them something sweet, even though they had been expressly forbidden to eat such things. Zuko tried to remain calm and keep smiling by attempting to convince himself that, somehow, Sokka had absolutely _no_ idea what _monsters_ they could be on a sugar high, and succeeded only when he realized that Sokka's child had recently started on solid foods, and might well need an introduction to that food which, apparently, her father held as important for a growing child.

Never will it be said that Fire Lord Zuko _ever_ let a child go undernourished…

---

There were still some stresses in the world, and the times when they could just get together were long gone (if they had ever been around, considering that the main reason they were together during the War was _because_ of the War). Still, twice a year, they _always_ made sure to get together. They had never really talked about all who would come, but by almost unspoken agreement it was only the core members of their group, those who had stuck with it for the longest, but there always _did_ seem to be someone or another who was new, and would be there for one, maybe two of the reunions. Ty Lee had appeared for every last one _but_ the last one, but had currently decided, for no reason whatsoever, to hitchhike across the world. She wouldn't be reaching the South Pole for another month, but had told everyone else to just meet without her.

The Mechanist's kid (Zuko could never quite remember what his name was and, in fact, wasn't even too sure about what the _Mechanist's_ real name was, if he even had a name— had Zuko even heard anyone ever refer to him as anything but "the Mechanist?") had appeared once, and so had some Earth Kingdom kid (Started with an "H," Toph was always joking about him whenever Katara was in earshot, but he still couldn't remember his name). Even Bumi had popped by once, and hadn't _that_ turned out to be a strange week…

But the main members (the _real_ members, Zuko always thought to himself) always managed to make it (along with Mai and Iroh, since Mai _was_ his wife, after all, and even if Iroh wasn't family, Zuko couldn't very well leave him alone with a Pai Sho board, possibly— probably— alcoholic tea— it seemed _nothing_ could not be combined with tea—, and a palace full of poor, unsuspecting servants). The week always went by far too fast, and ended with a meal around a fire. A simple meal, really, much like the ones they'd been forced to subsist on during the War (well, most of them— those of them who hailed from the Fire Nation had enjoyed much grander fare at various points, after all).

---

Laughing, Azariya ran around chasing Momo, in that area where the light from the fire blended with the darkness of night just beyond. Zuko was greatly surprised at the energy he displayed, since he'd just about broken his back earlier that morning, getting Azariya (and his younger brother, who actually _was _tired) to ride penguins for nearly the entire day, hoping that as night crept closer, they'd be tired enough to sit back and not cause so much of a ruckus.

"So how are things on Kyoshi Island?" Aang asked.

"Mm, pretty nice," Sokka said.

"We've managed to get things calmed down now," Suki said. "There's still a few people demanding reparations, even now, but…" Suki shrugged. "Our people weren't hit as hard as in some other places. They're not as willing to forgive and forget as the citizens of Omashu—"

"Well, they barely got hit at all," Katara pointed out.

Sokka nodded. "Which is pretty much the point, of course."

"And what do you mean they weren't hit as hard?" Mai asked. "According to what Zuko's told me, your village got more or less burnt to the ground."

"Then Zuko was exaggerating just a little bit," Suki said. "And we rebuilt fast."

"Maybe we should go there next time, Zuko, Sokka offered. "We'll be switching back over to Kyoshi Island again anyways in six months, so hey, less traveling for us, right?"

Zuko looked over to Mai, who gave a noncommittal shrug, and then he realized that he didn't have much of a choice, given that in the space of about three seconds, everybody else had already said how great that would be. He sighed, and said "Okay."

"Wonderful," Katara said. "Oh, and I'm pregnant." She grinned.

It was rather a shame that so many people had already gone off to bed, tired from the day's work as they were, since they were now rather rudely woken up by the resulting shouts (the loudest of which were coming from Aang, who, apparently, had been kept just as much in the dark as everybody else).

"Well," she explained some time later, once the noise had died down, "I wanted to tell everybody at once, and I just couldn't figure out a good time to slip it in. Anybody other than Suki have any suggestions for names?"

---

Sometime later, after Sokka and Suki had already gone off to put Jojo down for bed, and Zuko and Mai were planning to do so with their own children (and then probably collapse of exhaustion themselves), Aang noticed Toph. She was sitting, cross-legged, more or less where the children had been running earlier, just barely close enough for the heat from the fire to be felt. She wasn't doing anything. Just sitting there.

"You okay?" Aang asked, when he made it over to her.

She didn't answer for awhile, but just remained there, motionless. Not even making a sound, except for a shallow breath every few seconds. "I'm okay, Twinkletoes," she finally said. "It's nothing. I'm fine," she said, though her eyes looked slightly moister than they should have been.

"Are you sure?" he pressed.

"_Yes_, I'm sure!" she snapped, nearly lunging at him. "Just look at me. I'm the _picture_ of fine, Aang!" She collapsed to the ground, shivering and breathing rapidly, and a tear was running down her face.

Aang moved to help her up, but she knocked his arm away, and moved a little farther away. "I… just leave me alone, Aang. I want to be alone," she said, and she stood up and started to walk away. "Just do me _that_ much."

---

_Water Year 1103_

_The Boiling Rock, The Fire Nation_

The halls were bare metal, and their steps echoed through the halls.

About three months had passed since Chung-ling, and Aang had since judged that Zuko was skilled enough to perform "Spiritbending," as Aang called it.

Aang and Zuko were escorted by a trio of guards, lightly armored.

Since the end of The War, the Boiling Rock had gone from holding prisoners of war to holding prisoners of a more traditional nature, though just as dangerous. Traitors were here, and smugglers, soldiers who'd committed war crimes, and extortionists and thieves.

It was not very long before they entered a largish room, great enough for twenty people to stand inside, comfortably, and with space enough for all to walk about as they wished. There were only a dozen, though, and they stood in a semicircle towards the back, their faces displaying their worry, or confusion, or else nothing at all. One was the warden, two others were guards, and the remainder were from the nobility, representatives, to witness what would occur. In the center of the room, limbs and body both chained so tightly he could barely move even his head, was a man named Jee.

He was a thief.

And a former member of the court.

And a murderer.

And today, he would lose more than just his freedom.

The door opened, and two guards walked in, followed by Aang and Zuko, followed by the final guard, who turned and shut the door.

"This man," the Fire Lord began, "sought to gain wealth by taking it from others. He didn't steal from pockets, though, but from the treasury of the Royal Family. And when he was found out, he killed, in order to keep this knowledge from spreading. But it was discovered, regardless, and on the eve of his execution date, I came to him and offered him a chance. Not at freedom, but life, at least. All he would have to do is submit to a technique which, it is possible, might kill him regardless. But if it doesn't, he will be able to live out the remainder of his days, here at the Boiling Rock."

"What are you going to do?" one of the nobles spoke up.

Zuko walked over to Jee, and placed his hands upon the kneeling man's head. "Aang has taught me an additional Bending technique, one which can be learned by any Bender, regardless of their country." Zuko breathed slowly. "I am going to remove Jee's ability to Firebend. Permanently."

The few faces of curiosity joined those displaying open fear, and one man openly took a step backwards, even though he himself didn't even possess Firebending.

Zuko let himself flow into Jee, and almost immediately encountered resistance. It wasn't strong, though, and Zuko began to push through it, entering what could be described as being _truly _Jee. Jee as he was, without anything to filter him.

Waves of greed, and the anger that his grandfather had so abused their riches. A small niggling seed of regret over the death he'd caused, which had come from the heat of the moment, and which he would not have committed had he had the chance to do it over again. Still, it was no more than a seed of regret.

Jee's essence roared into Zuko's, battering against him as he screamed, and then as Jee began to lose ground, he found greater strength at his disposal, strength born of desperation. Bashing against Zuko's mind, struggling against his bonds both here and physically, gaining ground but slowly, and yet gaining ground all the same. An inch is an inch, no matter how slowly or quickly it is acquired, and Jee certainly wasn't losing any.

Until something snapped inside him. Because Jee had only been reacting. He had no real idea of what was happening to him, and when he forced Zuko out of him, he followed automatically, out of inertia, it could be said, though the term is not completely, is not technically, correct. Jee fell into Zuko's essence, beating it back and gaining ground in _Zuko_, but then, he fell apart.

All men may fight against their attacker, but it takes a knowledge of war for one to make good on the gains, and consolidate on the enemy's ground. Jee didn't know what he was doing, and he exhausted himself in only a few seconds.

Beaten, drained, half-broken and shattered into a thousand pieces, Zuko took the advantage, and drove himself into Jee, searing his essence with the force of a sun, almost as if he were burning the Bending out of man.

Zuko fell to his knees, panting, and the guards ran over to help him up. Jee himself would have fallen over, but the chains didn't allow him to do even that.

"Are you okay?" Aang asked.

Zuko tried to gain control over his breathing. "Yes. Pretty much."

"You almost died."

The Fire Lord forced himself to laugh, and it seemed to have the intended effect, for then Aang smiled, and the worry vanished. "I'm pretty sure I knew that already." He stood up and stepped away from the guards. "One of my men has compiled a list of people I'd like you to look over. People who he thinks would be good candidates for the training."

"I'll take a look at it," Aang said. "When can I get it?"

"I'll have it to you as soon as we get back." They began to walk away, and the guards took up their previous positions around them, but Zuko stopped, and turned around toward the warden. "I want you to inform the prisoners here, and tell your counterparts elsewhere in the Fire Nation, that we will be reducing the sentences of those who willingly give up their Bending, and likewise sparing the lives of those who would otherwise be executed." He started walking, and paused again. "Oh, and Mai would like you to come over next week."

"Of course, _Fire Lord_," the Warden smiled.

Things were starting to turn up, Zuko thought.

Everything was going _so _well.

---

_Water Year 1103_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Is there anything I can call you other than 'The Mechanist?'" Zuko asked.

The other man laughed. "I think it's fine enough. Saves a lot of trouble in the 'So what do you do, then?' area. So, what did you need my help with, Fire Lord?"

"I'd like for you to work for the Fire Nation again, producing new designs." Zuko handed The Mechanist a few papers. "Starting with what's on here. These are mainly just basics. Things we want to be incorporated into a given design."

The Mechanist looked through them. "Some of these look _very_… And after what the Fire Nation did with my designs before… I don't know if I should."

"I understand. Completely. But it's for the good of my people. Can you imagine how many people would be out of work? So we're going to need to continue to produce more machines. Lots more. And we're going to need to improve them."

The Mechanist nodded. "Can I go? I'd really like to get started now, if that's alright."

"Of course." Zuko turned to and walked a few steps toward a guard. "Please escort him to his room." He turned back to The Mechanist. "I think you'll like what we have for you."

After they left, another man came from behind. He looked like any other servant in the palace, though a second glance would have made one realize that he was from the Earth Kingdom. "I didn't think he'd be convinced so easily, Fire Lord."

"It was easy," replied Zuko. "And we should be able to produce military-grade designs easily enough. Things are proceeding along quite nicely. How's Aang?"

"The Avatar is in Sinaliarpok right now."

"How… _curious_," the Fire Lord said. "I wonder what he's doing there. I thought he said he was going to be in the South, with Katara."

"We could find out for you."

"No, no. I'm sure it's quite innocent. If Aang starts to become dangerous, I doubt that his reasoning for visiting the North Pole right now will reveal that to us."

---

_Water Year 1103_

_Chung-ling, The Fire Nation_

"It's all your fault," Azula stated.

Aang was startled. For more or less two years now, ever since she had been placed here after the Agni Kai, Aang had made sure to visit her whenever he was in the Fire Nation, or even just close to it, and he had never heard Azula say more than two words in a single day. Usually, a grunt or slight movement of the head as she listened to him talk, rambling endlessly on. So to hear her string together words into an actual sentence was something of a surprise, if you wanted to understate it.

"Come again?" he said.

Even now, Aang didn't really understand why he kept coming. It wasn't guilt, he knew. There was something else, which just drew him to Azula. He felt slightly unbalanced when he was away. Not too much, but when he talked to her (literally talked _to_ her, because she herself never really did any talking), it was as if he had been relieved of a pressure so slight that he had never noticed its presence.

"You ruined it all," she said, in that flat, toneless voice which Aang had grown so used to after all this time. "If you hadn't come around," she continued, "I would be Fire Lord by now. I would have everything I ever wanted. Even when you came along, I still could have gotten it, and you, too, in the end."

Aang stared at her. Even though she was off the drugs, she was still rather unseemly-looking. Her hair had only slightly recovered its previous brilliance, and her bones would sometimes become all too visible if she shifted just so. The look in her eyes, which had once been merely dull and faded, seemed now to bear witness to some sort of hollowness within her.

"It wouldn't even be all that bad, Avatar, to live under Fire Lord Azula," she said.

"Oh? Really?"

"I'm not like my father. I don't want an endless war, which is what he would have gotten. What would have been the point of killing all those people when I could do something else, and _still_ control them?"

"I thought that you were the one who suggested burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground."

If she had possessed the energy, Aang was sure, she would have laughed, but instead she merely whispered. "Do you really think that we could have gotten the whole _continent_ before Sozin's Comet left? Didn't you take a look around you when you fought my father? There was nobody around, Avatar. Just psychological damage. My father is rather intelligent, but he never stood a chance when I decided to play him. Not then, not when I left to get my brother, not when I told my brother that he was going to be killed."

"What do you mean?"

"Father never had to do that. He had to _give him up_. Little Zuzu would have taken Lu Ten's place not by being killed, but by being _Iroh's son_. But I couldn't let that happen, could I? Mother only thoughy I was a monster, never realized how intelligent I was." She made a sort of sound almost like a chuckle, but which came out more like a cough then anything else. "Neither did Father. I told Zuzu, he told Mother, and, I assume, she went running to Father, begging him not to kill her son, like I'd expected. He probably didn't have any idea what she was talking about, but Father never had a problem with taking advantage of a presented opportunity, and here was someone trusted by Grandfather, but who was willing to kill him. I was going to be the Fire Lord. I knew that, then."

"Wouldn't Zuko have become Fire Lord, though? I mean, you couldn't have already thought of _that_. Could you?" There was something about this which was starting to seriously worry Aang, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

It vanished, though, when Azula said "No." And then it started to come back, ever so slightly, when he realized that there was an "although…" to that statement. "I didn't think he would be banished, but… The fact that Father had become Fire Lord was proof that birth order didn't matter. I was the only choice. Father would never let Iroh take the throne, even after his death, and my brother? _Please_, Aang. Zuzu was everything that Father hated. He was the firstborn, just like _Iroh_. And even though he hid it well, I know that Father was reminded of _himself_." Azula cocked her head sideways. "I think Father was just like Zuzu as a boy. The same weakness, the same pitiful _need_ for his own father's acceptance and _love_. And while Father could forgive Zuzu for being born first, he could _not_ forgive my brother for that constant, unceasing reminder. All _I _had to do was occasionally remind Father of how flawed my Zu— my _brother_ was, in ways that were _not_ always so apparent. He was _always _so hotheaded, always so unthinking. I put the idea of watching the war council in his head, though I had _never_ thought it would work so spectacularly. I just thought that he would make a fool of himself, and that would be it."

For the first time in years, Aang saw Azula smile.

"But then, the universe _always_ bows to me. You'll see. I'll get out of here. And I won't need my Bending to kill you." Unnerved, Aang slowly stood up, and began to walk away, and Azula called after him, jovially. "Come back soon, Avatar!"

He stopped, momentarily. "I will," he said, and he began to walk away again.

Aang didn't know why, but there was something that kept pulling him to Azula.


	4. Reparations

This chapter is being uploaded early because my internet connection has been on the fritz, and while it MAY be going back to normal tomorrow, that also means that it's just as likely to COMPLETELY go 'boom.'

Ah, and before we continue on to the next chapter of our immensely happy tale (don't worry, there's going to be even _more_ of that cheeriness in the chapters to come!), there's something I'd like to point out. Gran-Gran is dead. The winters _are_ so very hard on the elderly, and she _is_ eighty. Speaking of which, I think she's more along the lines of their great-grandmother, in contrast to what some people I've talked to have believed. Maybe I'm wrong, and I don't think this point even affects the plot at all, but just in case, keep in mind that as I was writing this story, it was with Gran-Gran as a great-grandmother. In the Spanish version, too, Kanna's nickname is "Gran Gran Abuela", which translates into great great grandmother.

* * *

_Review Replies_

_Sweeping Channel 14: but what's up with toph? she seriousy _[sic] _needs a boyfriend. _Toph is... It's hard to explain without giving anything away. But Toph is starting to go nuts, a little bit. Cracking from some internal stress, you could say.

_oh, and by the way, you spelled Tai Li wrong. _I've looked at Wikipedia, the Avatar Wiki, Waterbender, transcripts of interviews with the original creators, and even on the Nickelodeon website. It's Ty Lee, sorry.

_Shadow Wasserson: I'm a little confused about timing, though. Last chapter was 1102, and it 'felt' like just one or two years post-series, in terms of the characters' mages. But now, in 1103, Zuko, Mai, Sokka, and Suki all have kids running around, Aang and Katara are married (right?) etc. _Something important to note is that this isn't exactly that advanced of a time. In these sorts of technological periods, you married YOUNG. Aang getting hitched before eighteen and having a kid soon after isn't too strange for this sort of setting, and odds are that he'd actually be getting a few strange looks if he waited much longer past puberty. And Aang/Katara _are _married, yes. Sorry, Zutara fans... You'll get another chance in the next book, though, if you pretend that they've changed their names for no reason at all, and act completely different, and... Well, the point is that it's a Fire/Water romance, right?

Once again, sorry, but... please don't kill me.

_But it was explicitly stated in the show that, in the Northern Water Tribe at least, 16 is considered 'of age' for marriage. _From the point of view of the Southern Tribe, the Northerns are stuck-up, sedentary, lazy, fools who have grown too comfortable with living in a city year-round, and not having to worry about killer blizzards or month-long nights in the dead of winter, because they're safe and cozy in their city. "Traditionally" (that is to say, in the Southern Water Tribe, where they do things PROPERLY- and perhaps the Foggy Swamp Tribe) marriage occurs as soon as possible. You could die at any time, and infant mortality is especially high, so it's only common sense that one would marry as soon as doing so would actually matter, and have as many children as possible. In the Fire Nation, marriage also occurs at an early age, with a similar emphasis on childbearing, though for different reasons (which may or may not become clear in Nini's Story), and while the nobility generally wait a bit longer, if you're still not married by eighteen, there's something wrong with you.

_Yet no children were mentioned the chapter before! _The Maiko kids and Jojo weren't mentioned earlier because, at least in my opinion (and that of the characters, apparently), you don't bring little kids to a funeral when they have no idea what it's about. They might be able to act all solemn and such for a couple minutes, but any longer, and they'll be trying to eat King Bumi's rock candy coffin (though I wonder if he would actually mind that...).

_Points: _22 (28 till next clue)

Oh, and there's a poll up on my profile, so if you don't want to take the time to review, you can just take a moment to choose one of the answers in the poll, and still get a point (or review AND answer the poll, for even more points...). XD I'll be changing the poll weekly, and posting the previous poll's answers in each new update.

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**Chapter Three: Reparations**

_Water Year 1104_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Bujing." The Fire Lord's voice cut through the silence of the halls like a razor. The man turned around, almost starting to tremble, and Zuko decided that he _really _needed to do something about that. "I would like to ask you a question."

"Of course, Fire Lord," Bujing said, and he gave a quick bow. "Whatever it is you wish."

"I want you to talk to the War Minister for me. Tell Qin that I want him to discreetly— emphasis on _discreetly_— locate the Yu Yan Archers and bring them together."

"Yes, Fire Lord. Whatever you request."

Bujing took off like an arrow, and Zuko headed off to see Azariya and Iroh (the younger).

It was time to read them their bedtime story.

---

_Water Year 1104_

_The Boiling Rock, The Fire Nation_

Flanked by a pair of guards, Zuko pushed open the door and walked inside the room., the same place where Jee had lost his Bending. With five other people, each holding down a heavily chained prisoner, the warden stood toward the front, staring them down. At the sound of the door, though, he turned around, and his expression turned from disgust to shock. "Fire Lord Zuko? I wasn't expecting you."

"I want to see it happen," Zuko said. These five prisoners were not your ordinary sort of traitor. They, like Jee, had been higher-ranking members of the court. "I want to _know_ that they are dead." And they had tried to kill him. "And I want to make sure that you do it slowly." They almost had, too. "I want to hear them scream."

Much could be said about what happened.

But this is crux of it: Zuko survived, because someone else took the blow for him, and that someone, whose name was Mai, might not make it.

And _that_ was why the warden hadn't paid it so much as a second thought when Zuko had ordered him to make their existence as terrible, and as painful, as possible. There didn't seem to be a single collective inch among them which hadn't been cut, burnt, or touched by acid. Horrible poisons had been administered, food and sleep had been denied.

The warden gave the order.

And as Zuko watched, they were executed, in an age-old method predating even the Agni Kai.

"Make sure Aang doesn't find out about this," Zuko told the warden, as they watched. "He might be willing to live with the executions, especially since we're trying to get rid of them, but not this. He wouldn't understand."

It took a long time for the conspirators to die, and Zuko enjoyed every second of it.

They were going to be safe, now.

No more troubles.

No more stress that wasn't paperwork-induced.

No more fear.

Zuko was starting to understand what his destiny was, and he was going to fulfill it.

Whatever the cost.

---

_Water Year 1104_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

Zuko stood by, and Azariya and Iroh and Jojo— Oh, the poor child— investigated their new friend, only a few months old. Katara's hair, but Aang's eyes. Katara stood nearby, trying to restrain herself from rushing in and grabbing her child, and he could hear her muttering that the child would be okay, every few minutes.

It was just a simple meal that they were eating (sans Katara, that is, who was, as already mentioned, trying to convince herself that her child could survive a few minutes of playing with three other children— she was almost there, but… you know, stuff happened…). Komodo sausages, and heavily spiced rice and fish. For most everyone, anyways. Aang was more than fine with replacing the fish and sausages with ash bananas, and seemed to like it so much that it, somehow, was actually rather _suspicious_.

Somehow.

"I'm expecting again," Mai said, and she took another bite of sausage.

"_Again_?" Sokka exclaimed. He turned to Zuko. "How many kids are you going to have? I mean, aren't you going to at least take a break?"

Zuko smiled. "You'd have to ask Mai. It's all fun on my side."

"I like kids," came the explanation, and this seemed to be even more confusing. True, she seemed to adore the four who had already come along from various members of the gaang, but she was still capable of being cold as ice in other situations, and it was a little hard to reconcile the quiet, oft-expressionless Mai who was content to mainly observe, interject a comment here and there, and otherwise just play Pai Sho with Iroh— she was getting better, and Iroh had almost lost, once— with the cheery, bubbly Mai who chased screaming little children not because they'd gotten into her things again— though, admittedly, that _did_ happen often enough— but because they were in the middle of a game of tag.

Ty Lee had popped by for a few minutes, unexpectedly, stolen some sausages, and left just as fast. It had taken nearly an hour before everyone had decided to just give up on trying to figure out why, and simply forget about it.

And Toph wasn't there, Zuko thought for what must have been the hundredth time.

According to Sokka, she was busy arguing with her parents, trying to convince them that she didn't need to get married, and especially not to _"him."_ Sokka never cleared up the matter of who "him" was— it was quite likely, quite probable that Sokka didn't know, either— but at least that was the only problem. Zuko had been getting a little worried about Toph. She seemed to be growing a little… distant.

And should it have really be taking this long? She'd missed their last reunion, as well. He would've thought that she'd be able to leave at least long enough for this, of all things.

There was something between her and Aang. Or, rather, something with her, involving Aang, since it seemed that the Avatar was as clueless about all of this as everybody else.

Zuko resolved to figure out what was wrong.

Only moments later, there was a knock at the door, and one of the Palace's many servants came walking in, head held low, heading toward Zuko. He bowed slowly, but with haste. "Forgive me for interrupting, Fire Lord Zuko, but the ambassador from the Earth Kingdom has just arrived."

"Thank you. Tell him I'll be there in just a moment," Zuko responded, smiling— maybe he should just stop it, he thought for a second, until he figured out how to do it without terrifying them— and then turned around and leaned over to Sokka. "Sorry, but I've got to go."

"Fire Lord business. Gotcha. I'll tell the others." Sokka glanced over at the mentioned "others," and shrugged. "When they finally shut up, anyways."

"Thanks."

Scant moments later, Zuko reached the ambassador. He was a tall, gaunt man, somewhere between Ozai and Uncle Iroh in terms of age.

"Fire Lord Zuko," he said, and bowed, Earth Kingdom-style.

"Ambassador Gatsu," Zuko replied, and gave a small nod of his head. He wouldn't have had a problem with bowing, really, but appearances had to be kept up and, for all intents and purposes, Gatsu was just another face in the crowd, albeit one who was currently serving in the stead of His Majesty Kuei, 52nd Earth King, Master of Ba Sing Se, Lord Over All the Earth Kingdom and the Cities Thereof, Scholar of the Old City, yada yada yada…

Zuko found all the titles rather irritating, and found it even more annoying by the fact that, while Kuei might have twenty or more of them, Zuko was still not sure if he had memorized all of the titles of the Fire Lord.

"It's been awhile, ambassador," Zuko continued. "I hope you had time enough to spend with your family before you were forced to leave again?"

"Yes. Thank you for asking." Gatsu smiled, and looked back to take just a little longer of a look at a painting they'd passed. "You look remarkably like him."

"Sozin? Or Roku?"

"Both, I suppose. It's strange, but… there's a lot of similarity between the two."

"I get that a lot. Did your grandchildren enjoy the gifts I sent?"

Gatsu smiled again. "Oh, most certainly. It's the first time I've ever been told to go away and leave them alone."

"Oh?" Zuko cocked his head.

"Yes. I was ordered by Their Excellencies, Fung, June, and Pong that I was to leave straightaway, and return to, excuse me for the disrespect, 'Fiyah Lode Zookoh,' and get more."

"I'm glad they liked them. So, is everything well in the Earth Kingdom, then? I've heard reports of bandits, and a few rebels, but there's always that, isn't there? We have discontented masses of our own here in the Fire Nation, in fact." Zuko frowned. "Most of my people were all too happy to see The War end, but there have been some who felt that their honor had been besmirched, or simply wanted the power that a successful conquest would bring."

"There is, in fact, some trouble beyond the norm."

"Please, tell me. There's little point to all this otherwise, right?"

"There is some… _worry_ over the Colonies."

"Oh?" Zuko appeared to be surprised. "What do you mean by that?"

"Surely, you must've heard just a _little_."

"Only a little. And from what I've heard, it's just general discontent. Nothing to worry about."

Gatsu scratched the back of his head, visibly distressed. "Many of the citizens of the Earth Kingdom believe that you are merely using this time to take a breather, as it were, from The War, so that you might finish the work of your ancestors that much more easier."

"And where are they getting these _ridiculous_ notions?" Zuko asked.

"Well, for one thing," Gatsu replied, "you still maintain a presence in the Earth Kingdom."

"The Colonies have existed there for _generations_," exclaimed Zuko. "I can't demand that they leave their homes and simply pack up to a place where work is _already _hard enough to come by. There are actually people still _leaving _the Homelands just because what work is available wouldn't pay enough to feed a pair of bearded cats. Do you know how many of my people were unemployed until recently?"

"Until _recently_," Gatsu repeated, putting extra stress on the second word. "Nearly everyone in the Fire Nation has work now, is this not correct?"

"Yes, and neither you nor the Earth King should forget how our work had benefited your people. Because of our work, every city in the Earth Kingdom will be connected by railroad, in little more than a decade from this very date. And have you forgotten, too, of the massive efficiency we have provided in the trade system? With our supply trucks, the merchant caravans are able to make the rounds in half the time." Zuko smiled. "I'll bet the people never thought they'd see a day when the merchants came _twice _a season."

"But you retain complete control over the vehicles. Each one must be driven by a Fire National specifically licensed for the job, and those people are the only ones allowed to so much as look at the things when they're damaged and in need of repair."

"We can't just let the whole world learn about how these things work, now."

"But how are we supposed to trust you, Fire Lord?"

Zuko looked mortified. "_Please _explain to me how I am supposed to take that, Gatsu. I thought we were _friends_, and now my _friend_ is saying that my trustworthiness is suspect!"

"I didn't mean to say it like that," the ambassador said hurriedly. "Not at all. But the other people. The rest of the Earth Kingdom. After so long, it's hard for them to…"

"It's hard for them to move on," Zuko finished, and Gatsu nodded. "I've had similar talks with the ambassadors from the Water Tribes." The Fire Lord shook his head. "They refuse to choose a single envoy, and so I have to deal with their complaints separately. Surprisingly, though," Zuko went on, "they do not seem to be nearly so demanding as _your_ people."

"What have they requested?" inquired the ambassador.

"What have they _demanded_," Zuko corrected. "The Northern Tribe is willing to trade with us, so long as we follow a few conditions. We are to follow only along certain previously agreed-upon routes, and while within their territory will be escorted by a number of submarines relative to the strength of the fleet. Further, we are to only enter their waters for trade purposes twice a year, while diplomatic overtures should…" It looked as if Zuko were struggling for the right word. "They should be _very _rare. They also demanded that all the assets of one Admiral Zhao be given over to them, and that his name be forever stricken from the records of the Fire Nation. I was only too happy to oblige."

"And what of the Southern Water Tribe?" Gatsu asked.

"They want nothing to do with us. I personally, and the Royal Family, may visit, but only due to our connection to certain members of their people. Until the city Maniyok is completed, no other citizen of the Fire Nation may step foot on the South Pole, or travel through its waters. I think it's rather fair enough."

"All that Earth King Kuei is asking for is something he can use as a sign to the people that you can be trusted. I believe you, Earth King Kuei believes you, but not all of the _people_ do. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Zuko said. "But I've understood that for awhile, and I'm afraid that I can't change my position on this matter."

"They think that you are attempting to use the Colonies as a beachhead, for your next assault."

"Perhaps they'd like for me to stop production of the railroads," Zuko said. "Perhaps they'd like for me to buy back every piece of machinery we've sold."

"You seem to be forgetting that there's always a _Fire National _in charge of the machinery."

Zuko sighed. "Gatsu, perhaps you don't fully understand the situation. I am giving my people every sort of job there is, and I am _still _having to hire people to dig ditches, just so that I can then hire people to _fill_ those ditches. You have _no _idea how much I've cut down on production in the factories, just to reduce how threatening we are."

"We have also learned of your employment of The Mechanist."

"Is that a problem?" asked the Fire Lord. He knew what was going on in the ambassador's head. The Mechanist was brilliant, but extremely gullible. So long as he had all the funds he could ever need, for whatever new design he was cranking out, then he'd eagerly accept whatever story he was told, so long as it survived the few minutes of examination it would be given before the Mechanist dove into his work again.

Zuko had even hired somebody whose sole job was to remind The Mechanist of when he needed to eat and sleep, and unlike some of the jobs he'd created, _that_ one was actually necessary at times.

"Now, how goes the monument we're financing in Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked, once Gatsu shook his head slowly.

"Very good. And the Earth King and I both think that it should help, as a permanent testament of what has happened, and how it will never be allowed again. In time, it should ease some of the worries of the people."

"At least in Ba Sing Se," Zuko said. "Now, I've heard that you've disbanded much of the army, as per the terms of the treaty. How is that going?"

"Good. We're down to just a little more than three-fifths of the size we had during The War, with most of them having reintegrated into civilian life quite nicely. The Council of Five is, however, quite worried about _your_ efforts at demilitarization. It doesn't look like you've relieved more than a few regiments."

"We are disbanding as quickly as we can, but we must take into account matters of employment. Do you have any idea of how many of my people serve in the military of the Fire Nation?"

Gatsu didn't respond, likely because he had an idea. A hundred years of warfare did not translate into a society with a small military, and _every_ able-bodied Fire National, male or female, had served either in the military itself or in some production-related industry.

"Relax, Gatsu. Something like this doesn't fix itself overnight, or even in just a handful of years." Zuko reached into a pocket and pulled out a tile, holding it out for Gatsu. "Here. Give this to the Earth King, and tell him to ask General Fat what it means."

"What _does_ it mean?"

"It means that you and the Earth King can trust me."

Gatsu took the White Lotus tile, and the Fire Lord smiled.

---

_Water Year 1104_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"I've been thinking, How," Zuko said, as he walked through the halls of the Royal Palace.

"About what, sir?"

"The… 're-education' process. And if the tools you used were still available."

"Earth King Kuei ordered us to destroy them."

"But you didn't, did you?"

How smiled. "You should know better than that, by now, Fire Lord. Of course we didn't."

"Then I want you to contact your agents in Ba Sing Se, and arrange for them to transport everything related to the re-education process. As well as anything else you think may be of value." Zuko scratched his beard for a moment. "Did they require any unique materials, or might more be produced?"

The Dai Li's grin grew, until it looked like it would split his face in two. "Oh, we can _definitely _produce more."

"Then do so. And make sure nobody hears a word of this. I don't want _anyone_ to know of it. Least of all Aang." The Fire Lord scowled. "The consequences for _all _of us will be dire indeed, if Aang learns about what we're doing."

"I assure you, Fire Lord, he won't notice a thing."

---

_Water Year 1104_

_Chung-ling, The Fire Nation_

"Back again?" Azula spat out. "I can't imagine _why_. Certainly, it's not for the company."

There was no answer.

"Oh, now what's _this_? Are you _really _refusing to speak to me? Is it because of what I said last time you visited?" Azula asked, referring to the events of two weeks prior, when she had made some rather… sordid remarks. "But then, given what I'd said, I'm forced to wonder why you even come at all."

She picked up a chopstick and poked at her bowl of rice. "Maybe, it's because you know it's _true_. So how is the little kiddy doing, then? His peasant mother carry him well?" Azula leaned over the table, closer to Aang. "I heard what you named him. _So _sentimental. And so full of rabbaroo crap. I mean, _really_, why not something more dignified?"

"I wonder why I keep coming here," Aang said.

"Maybe it's because you like me, Avatar. Ever wonder what you could do, here?" Her voice dropped. "Nobody would _ever_ find out, you know. I think that's why you keep coming back. Your brain just hasn't caught up with the rest of you, if you catch my meaning."

"Do you really want this to be a repeat of my last visit? Because, personally, I'm rather tired of hearing this whole tirade again and again."

"Then why did you only leave early _last_ time?" She asked.

"Probably," Aang said, "because you decided to go into some new territory, and call Katara a slut."

She leaned back in her seat. "Yeah, probably. But hey, it's not like she'd know about this."

"And how many times do I have to tell you 'No,' Azula?"

"Until you say 'Yes,' and you _will_, in time." Azula smiled. "I _always_ get what I want."

"Then why aren't you free?"

"I lost patience. I need to regain patience. I snapped. I broke. I snapped. I broke. I snapped. I broke. I—" and so Azula carried on, for several minutes, until eventually she resumed her conversation, unaware that anything out of the ordinary had happened. "— snapped. I broke. I shouldn't have reacted how I did. I should have planned more, and been more ready." This had occurred before, but never in such an ironic fashion, during a point where she was actually _discussing_ her damaged mental state.

"Perhaps you should get some rest," Aang suggested.

Aang couldn't prove it, but he always felt as if, somehow, there was more than just one Azula looking at him from behind those hollow, faded golden eyes. Every so often, the tone of the conversation would change, without any cause. The subject might remain the same, but the way in which she approached it could sometimes reverse completely.

"Let's play Pai Sho, Avatar."

"I don't think so. Last time, you managed to spell out an obscene word with the tiles."

"Well, _I _thought it was rather clever, considering that I'd needed to manipulate _your _tiles as well, and do it _just_ so."

"How about a game of cards?"

And this somehow triggered a violent response in Azula, for almost instantly she was reached across the table, trying to drag Aang over it, biting at him and clawing with nails which had, fortunately for him, been filed down by the staff. He broke free of her grasp of took several steps back, opening the door and then closing it just as rapidly behind him before leaning against the wall and allowing himself to slide down to the floor, panting.

He'd come back again soon, he told himself, but he was busy for the next few weeks.

In just another week, he said to himself, a month later.

As soon as _this_ village's problem is resolved, he promised himself, and then I'll check to see if Azula is doing better.

But other things got in the way, and he was all too willing to allow them.

The months passed, and eventually it didn't matter so much. Azula had managed to find a piece of glass, and was gone now, and as for Aang, well…

Aang thought he had much bigger problems now, than a raving madwoman.

---

As Zuko said, most people were all too happy to see The War end, but there were others… Some people felt that their honor had been damaged. Some people wanted the power.

Some people just plain learn the wrong lessons from history.

Some learn the right ones.

Time will tell.

"_I guess you don't know people as well as you think you do. You miscalculated."_

—_Mai_

**End of Part One. **


	5. Hit the Ground Running

* * *

**A/N **Firstly, allow me to apologize for half of this chapter being non-story. I was advised to make this a short chapter, and it just so happened that there were some lengthy review replies, and theories. Sorry. Also, I've decided to update on Sundays now, since it seems that more people are active at that point. Plus, it's before all the homework and such, so that's good, right?

_Review Replies_

_Shadow Wasserson: What's wrong with Toph? It's not that she loves Aang, is it? I've never understood that ship, and if that's where you're going, I would have liked some build-up._ I don't know if "ship" would be as good a description as "connection." The particular sort of pattern/archetype which keeps reincarnating, which has most recently reincarnated in Toph, needs the Avatar to be complete. This doesn't mean that there's any romantic attraction to Aang-- though there very well might be-- but simply that there's a connection, and a dependency. To use another example, Katara continually pops up as someone who the Avatar can lean on. She's the "Companion," as one person put it, and while this MAY lead into a romantic relationship, it doesn't have to. First and foremost, she's an aide to the Avatar, the person who sticks by him (or her) through everything.

_I have a bit of a problem with the beginning. Zuko has ~never~ been cruel. Never. He's been cold and driven at times, and he does bad things in the heat of the moment, but I cannot imagine him torturing someone to death. Not at all. _Zuko has changed a little bit. He's... "cracking," so to speak. This has happened to every single previous incarnation of the pattern/archetype currently contained within Zuko. And while he might not torture people to death willy-nilly, everyone has a breaking point. If the assassins had merely hurt HIM, everything would be fine. They'd still have been executed, of course, but that would be the end of it. But, see, they hurt MAI, and that's something Zuko just won't stand for. And he doesn't even have the luxury of thinking "She got hurt, but she's better now, and everything's okay." While she did eventually recover, at the time when they were finally killed, she was still on the edge of dying. And no matter what else happens, you don't touch his family, you don't THINK of touching his family.

If nothing else, regardless of what other atrocities Zuko might commit, he will never be like Fire Lord Ozai. Family is his greatest priority, and if he damns the world, it is for their sake just as surely as if he saved it.

_Ogro: Will the reason for her sudden distance ever be explained in later stories? You kind of left it vague for me... _As time goes on, it'll become more apparent. And even though it might actually be more confusing by the end of the story, keep in mind that this is going to be four books long. Try and see if you can spot who characters are coming back as, if you've got too much time on your hands, and want to get closer to a new clue. I'll tell you right now that at least three of characters have the same pattern/archetype as other people in the series, who died in the past. First one is the Avatar, of course, and you get no points for guessing that, but besides the Avatar...

_Points: _34 (16 till next clue)

According to the poll, 75% of you readers believe that Zuko is trying to keep the peace, and is ultimately a force for good, though he might go a bit too far in doing so. The rest of you think he's going to confirm the worst fears of those Earth Kingdom citizens in the prior chapter, and make a bid for power just like Sozin did.

So far, you've come up with some interesting theories, and as I'll do at the beginning of Part Three, I'll list them here.

_Shadow Wasserson_ believed that the girl in the first chapter was Toph, who had been captured at some point after Bumi's funeral and then stripped of her Bending, based on the "blank stare," the fact that she wasn't Bending the silver, and the focus on Zuko and Aang (given the rampant Toko and Taang shipping that goes on in many stories). This has been proven untrue, of course, but I'm strangely fond of this theory, and not only do I feel that it was well-thought enough to deserve a small degree of publicity, it also shows the sort of thinking necessary if you want to figure some things out in this story ahead of time.

_Vampire Delight _believes that Zuko got the Dai Li back together for security purposes, and thinks that he's going to turn out to be less of a Stalin and more of a pre-Xerxes Persian.

_ClockworkChaos_ has offered a variety of possibilities for the one-sided Aang/somebody ships. Toph, given what happened in Maniyok, and which Clockwork links to Katara's announcement of her pregnancy, though Clockwork also suggests that it might simply be Toph feeling left out of the "love game." Azula, given her pattern-type, described in Chapter Three.

Clockwork Chaos also suggests that Toph's particular pattern-type is a sort of struggle between domestic life and freedom. She wanted to get away from her overprotective parents, but then was feeling bad when she was left unattached, which would presumably lead her to seeking something along the lines of what she had before. And on and on, in a vicious cycle of sorts. Clockwork isn't too thrilled about Manipulative!Zuko, thinking that in the series he's displayed all the subtlety of a Moose-Lion, but without going into a debate on the subtlety of said creatures, I'd like to offer up an alternate opinion, just to get the gears spinning a tad faster: Perhaps Zuko isn't who you think he is. Perhaps he's a spirit, perhaps he's someone who has gotten some sort of surgery to look like Zuko, perhaps Zuko is simply being controlled by someone (is Iroh's tea-obsessed Pai Sho-playing persona we're so familiar with nothing more than a front?).*

Further, Zuko is trying to create some sort of force that can counter the Avatar, as a further layer to the contingency plan. Rather strange thought process, IMO, since I thought people would assume that the contingency plan was for if the Avatar disappeared, but I suppose an anti-Avatar contingency plan is another way of looking at it. Clockwork also presents the possibility that Zuko is going to try and Energybend everyone, for some on, Clockwork gives yet another possible scenario, suggesting that Zuko is going to try and establish a One World Order of sorts, so that there could never be another war again.

The reason Azula went batsh*t insane after Aang suggested they play cards is thought by Clockwork to be something to do with one of her past lives. Clockwork pointed out that the economic situation of the Fire Nation, as described by Zuko, is extremely unlikely, given that there should have been such a large market. While I offer the reminder that Zuko actually shut down many of the factories, and disbanded many people from the military, apparently to seem like less of a threat, this might not actually answer everything, or the motivation behind it might be different than what he claims.

Clockwork Chaos would probably appreciate it if I asked everybody to not think too deeply on the _other_ one-sided Azula/somebody ship. We're running out of brain bleach.

*Clockwork does, after all, suggest in a later PM that Iroh is the one who suggested to Zuko that he recruit the Dai Li.

* * *

**Part Two: Peace Doesn't Last**

"_Here is my wisdom for you: selfless duty calls for you to sacrifice your own spiritual needs, and do whatever it takes to protect the world."_

—_Avatar Yangchen_

**Chapter Four: Hit the Ground Running**

_Water Year 1106_

_Area of Gaipan, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

A gust of wind flew across the battlefield, flipping over the battered Earth Kingdom tank onto its side, and Aang sped across it, propelling himself above and over it with a burst of air. His staff spun, dispersing a blast of flame, and a quick movement, a half-spin and a midair kick, brought it back together, roaring at Aang's attacker.

The ground came up to meet him, and he smashed into it, still on his feet, still moving and running as he ducked out of the way of a massive rock.

---

Never stop moving.

---

A curtain of flames came racing in his direction, and he brought a hand up, raising a wall of earth. It would be torn down in a matter of seconds, but the delay— burn the arrows over there— would do nothing but help Aang's forces.

Move left to dodge the sword, fall to the ground, give a kick and set him afire.

---

Aang had been forced to change a lot.

Did he believe that life was sacred? Yes.

Did he think that killing was not something to be taken lightly? Yes.

But even if he decided to Spiritbend the opposition, they'd still have swords and bows— got to pay more attention, that one almost got him— and people would still die.

Besides, Aang had reasoned, months ago, when war had returned, those Fire Nation corpses around Gyatso hadn't gotten that way on their own.

---

He followed the gaze of an enemy soldier over a few feet, to where an Earthbender— one of Aang's— was about to be trapped behind the advance of enemy troops. The Firebenders heading toward the man began to gesture, but Aang, twenty feet away, made a pulling motion with his hands, and the air was drawn away from their hands. For just a brief moment, and not much, true, but moments were all they had, and all they needed. There was the sound of breaking bones when the Earthbender took the advantage and blew an opening back to his ranks with a large rock, but Aang was already almost fifty feet away from where he had been.

There was the scream of incoming artillery fire, and a wave of air pushed away everyone in the area before Aang launched himself out, just as the trebuchet's rock hit the area. Rolling forward to absorb what little force of the impact remained even after falling into a cushion of air, he bounced back up and kept on going.

Aang saw a group of four Fire Nation tanks, and one from the Earth Kingdom, moving forward toward his soldiers, and he raced forward, propelling himself ever faster with the winds pushing at his back. Launching himself up far above the ground, he pulled away the air around the tanks, and the rush of air running into the vacuum crushed and tore apart the tanks, ruining them beyond any hope of salvaging the machines.

Letting himself fall down again, Aang ignored the pain growing in his lower back, and spun himself as he headed into the middle of the opposition, launching fire in all directions, raising stone from the ground and gatherings winds around himself.

Aang closed his eyes, and readied himself for impact.

---

Why Gaipan, of all places? Who would have thought that there'd ever be more than a minor skirmish around this small town. Instead, they were dealing with an entire regiment. They had been caught off-guard, and they were paying the price now.

---

The winds he was using to block the impact dissipated a second too soon, and Aang took more than he was expecting, but he knew that wasn't the worse that could have happened. Another push from the air, and he flipped upright, sending a blast of wind into the nearest soldier.

---

They had been caught off-guard, here at Gaipan, not expecting a battle for another day. This army moved faster than they'd thought. Aang needed to figure something out, before they were overwhelmed.

---

The scuttling sound of an Earth Kingdom tank grew closer, and Aang brought up a pillar from the ground, launching it into the air. Running further into the depths of the army, he sent flurries of flame and wind toward the sides, clearing a path.

And another wave of pain spread through his lower back.

Trying to ignore it, he flipped around and sent a wall of fire toward the front of the army with a swing of his staff. Knocking away anything it didn't immolate entirely, the fire gave an opening to Aang's forces, and they pressed into it as Aang turned around, took another step, and collapsed, wrapping around himself a shield of stone as the pain grew too intense to ignore.

---

Got to keep moving.

Staying still means you're dead.

Pausing is what got Sokka killed.

Got to keep moving.

_Never_ stop moving.

---

Moments passed like days, and Aang tried to will the pain away. He shouldn't have exerted himself like that. He should have exercised more restraint. He can't do stuff like that anymore.

Keep moving, keep moving.

He inhaled deeply, taking in what little free air was in the bubble of stone he'd formed, and spread himself out, exploding his shield and sending pieces of it in all directions as he ran forward, sending out bursts of flame with his punches and taking in more air through his nostrils. Ducking, returning blows, weaving in and out and throwing blades of compressed air, slicing through whatever they hit. Aang kept on inhaling, till his lungs felt like they would explode, and then his throat, and finally he couldn't inhale anymore, no matter how far he compressed the air.

Aang exhaled, and the force blew away a five-foot wide opening, which he took advantage of with a few more bursts of fire, and massive rocks.

Where was the leader of this regiment?

Another blast of flame, trying to continually clear a path for himself. Four Earthbenders ran toward him, supported by a Firebender, and only a second after Aang noticed them, they began to attack. Most of the tanks— on both sides— were too damaged for battle by this point, and stone pillars rose from the ground, launching the hulks into the air, coming down where Aang's forces were being hit the hardest.

Duck, flip, gust of wind, launch into the air with a burst of flame.

_There_. Just behind that little hill. Aang has a keen eye, and even from here he can spot the subtle differences that distinguish the commander from his highest troops.

Another burst of flame carries him higher, and then a gust of wind to push him in the right direction. Aang fell down to the earth, raining fire and raising stone as he went hurtling toward the rear of the army.

A moment before impact, he gathered the winds around his landing point, absorbing the shock as he slowed his descent with a burst of fire. Roll into the impact, leap and send a wall of fire to the rear. Aang kept going, flipping backwards as a sword nearly connected with his neck and sending his attacker flying with a thrust of his leg and the pillar of earth it raised ten feet high into the air.

Whoever is leading this regiment isn't stupid, though, and he's already sent most of the nearby troops to deal with Aang.

---

Life is breath. Breath is air. Life is air.

Aang wonders, and not for the first time, if this is why the Air Nomads were pacifists.

---

Aang closes his eyes, and _pulls_ with his hands, and his own breath, listening for a sound he cannot hear. Among the roar of the battle, it is impossible even for Aang to hear the fruit of his work. Only quick gasps are able to be emitted, as eight soldiers feel their lungs collapse.

---

Did the Air Nomads abhor killing because they were so _good_ at it?

---

And Aang does it again, ignoring the churning in his lower back, not caring that what he just did would have had him throwing up this time last year.

---

War changes you, or you die. And _that _was not an option. Not when there were others depending on him. Gyatso proved that it wasn't, when he and the other Monks littered the temple with Firebender corpses.

And now Aang knew why there were so many. And, perhaps, why the Air Nomads didn't have a military.

The commander turns toward him and his guards manage to split the boulders Aang throws and reverse his pillars almost as fast as they rise. A fierce wind does little to unbalance the Firebender, who smiles and with a quick motion of his hands disperses the flames Aang sends.

---

It's unfortunate that he doesn't catch Aang's own smile.

---

Aang jumps a foot into the air and somersaults into the air, diving into the ground and letting it swallow him up. The frantic muttering as the regiment's leader gives orders to his guards, Firebender and Earthbender alike, and then Aang rises up out of the ground, thrown a hundred feet into the air by the ground he raises, and he lets go of what he is holding.

---

Aang has the ability to slow his descent any number of ways. The leader might be able to use flames to do so, but if he has the capability, his panic does not, apparently, allow him to take advantage of this.

---

Two rise up into the air, one falls down _much_ faster than the other, and with the commander's death, the tide slowly, ever so slowly begins to change.

Aang launches the tanks into the air once again. It gives him a tiny bit of thrill each time, even when most are successfully defended against by the opposing Earthbenders.

Jump, kick, send a burst of fire, knock the other one down with the wind.

---

The tide is changing, but it'll be a little while still before the battle is won.

---

Never stop moving.

Stopping gets you killed.

* * *

The war eleven centuries ago, during the time of Avatar Hahn, was started by a Firebender. The War was started by a Firebender, and in the peace that followed, it was revived by a Firebender. I do believe there is a pattern here, and let me mention something more, another free clue: The greatest war in recorded history will be started by a Firebender.

* * *

**A/N **There is another poll up on my profile now. Do you think that Zuko started this war?


	6. Mopping Up the Opposition

**A/N **Anyone who knows what _Soul Eater _is, give some consideration to writing some fanfic for it, alright? It's such a wonderful series, and yet there's only 529- or is it 592? ::leaves for a moment:: 529, sorry. There's only 529 stories, and most of them are (a) incomplete or (b) complete sh*t. And _Soul Eater _doesn't deserve that. So give it some love, folks. Or point me in the direction of another _Soul Eater _archive. That works, too.

* * *

Yes. Sokka died. A lot of people you know and love are going to die, and many of them will be dying off-screen. People newly added to the list are going to have their deaths explained, to help give a broader view of the war.

_The Casualty List: _General Shinu, The Rough Rhinos (Colonel Mongke, Kahchi, Ogodei, Vachir, Yeh-lu), Sokka, Captain Yung, General How.

_General Shinu_ was slain in a battle in the Fire Colonies, referenced below as being particularly disastrous to the Fire Nation. The opposition knew almost every detail of their strategy, and the entire force was wiped out. _The Rough Rhinos_, brought together after the beginning of the war, were also present in this battle, and so perished along with the others.

_Sokka _was killed in one of the earliest battles battles of the war, though it was actually more of an ambush. Stopping only for a second as he heard something snap, he moved out of the way too late and was the first casualty of the battle.

_Captain Yung _was killed during the Rebellion in Omashu, leading a group of Roses against the Loyalist forces in the city. Though the coup would prove a success, Captain Yung himself was not so lucky, and he became a martyr in the eyes of the survivors as they continued to fight against Earth King Kuei's attempts to take back control of the Earth Kingdom.

A member of the Council of Five, _How _was assassinated by a fellow general before the traitor departed and declared his allegiance to the Roses. This How is not to be confused with the How of the Dai Li, and was in fact killed off in order to prevent you from confusing the them. Just in case any of you were wondering if the two were the same.

* * *

_Review Replies_

_Alyx the Dark Wanderer: That was great but where it [sic] Katara and Toph? _Katara is a Second Officer on the Red Gale, a Water Tribe ship stationed in Full Moon Bay. Toph is commanding an army operating in that mountain range to the very south of the EK continent. On my profile, I now have a map showing where various forces are deployed. _And how old is Aang now? _Sixteen, if I'm doing my math right.

_Points: _43 (7 till next clue)

* * *

**Chapter Five: Mopping Up the Opposition**

_Water Year 1106_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation _

Footsteps approached, clearly audible upon the metal floor, and as the door opened Fire Lord Zuko looked up from the papers strewn across the massive table, and smiled. "Is everything doing well on the Colonial Front?" he asked.

How nodded.

"Aang and his soldiers?"

"Running a little low on supplies, but in no danger of being fought off."

"Toph and her soldiers?"

"Weary, but that never changes, given how she works them." How shrugged. "We think that she's going to be launching another major offensive, though."

"That's interesting. I'm surprised that the Council of Five is letting her. They might be trying to be on the offense in this war, but Toph… She has a rather different idea of what that means, doesn't she?"

"I've always liked the term 'overkill,' Fire Lord Zuko."

Zuko gave a brief wave of his hand, as if batting away a spiderfly. "I've _told_ you, How. Just plain 'Zuko,' if you would. And perhaps 'overextended' could be another appropriate word for Toph's typical situation after one of _her_ offensives?" He shook his head slowly. "She's got a problem, How."

"Of course she—"

"Not like that. She's got a fine tactical mind. I've seen her in action, both in the war room and in the field, and I'm still puzzled over all this. Toph should _know_ what she's doing, how she's only hurting her army in the long run, but it's as if she's got a death wish."

"Or she's very, _very_ angry with someone."

Zuko smiled. "Perhaps." He tapped the table with his fingers, twice, and then stopped. "I want you to send a Dai Li agent to the _Red Gale_."

"Isn't that where the Avatar's wife is stationed?"

"Yes. And make sure your people are in position at Ba Sing Se. We'll never quite know when it'll be necessary to use them, How."

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Area of Gaipan, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

In the tent, Aang gave a sound of displeasure as the Waterbender healer worked on his back.

"You can't keep on doing this," Kya admonished him.

"I know, I know."

"You're tearing up your Water Chakra," she continued.

"_I know_."

"How did this even get so hurt in the first place? This feels _really_ old. And there's the _scarring_."

Aang sighed. "It's an old wound from The War. Don't worry about it. I just need it healed up and flowing again, alright?"

"You have to stop exerting yourself so much."

It was back during The War when he got it. It was a gift from Azula. He had gone into the Avatar State, and… well, he had _died_, actually. Hit in the back with lightning. He had thought that everything had turned out alright in the end— he had thought he had managed to keep the Avatar Spirit safe (it was hard to remember _how_ though, nowadays) and, he supposed, he had— but there was some damage that hadn't been entirely expected.

Possibly it had been finally triggered when he struggled with Ozai, trying to remove his Bending, but he had felt drained even then. He hadn't shown it, since it was minor, but… it was worse than he had felt after leaving the Avatar State any previous time. While he was just as good as any Bending Master, doing much more, as he slowly learned, would cause increasing amounts pain (and damage to his Chakra). He had entered the Avatar State only once since Ozai, during the first full battle of this new war, and it had nearly killed him.

He couldn't begin to describe the sort of pain he'd suffered afterwards, and they'd told him, later on, that he'd been unconscious for days before finally waking up. Azula hadn't just killed him, she had damaged one of his Chakras beyond any hope of fully healing, and if he tried to do too much— if he tried to actually do something only the Avatar would be capable of, to be precise— it would simply be shredded up further. Though he didn't understand how "lightning" equaled "torn-up Chakra." If it was "burnt," he'd get it. But torn?

Whatever.

At least it didn't seem like it would be passed down to the next Avatar.

"You need to get some sleep."

"I can't. We need to pursue."

"_They'll_ need to sleep, too. They won't get too far."

"I—"

"I am _ordering_ you to get some sleep."

"You can't give me a command," Aang protested. "_I'm_ the one who—"

She cut him off again. "What would your wife be telling you to do? Do you really think she'd want you to take a chance like this, and possibly _die_ just because you didn't take some sleep? What about your _son_?" she asked, when he began to respond, and that was enough. "There you go, Avatar Aang. This army will need time to recover, anyways. You can't send them out there only half an hour after a battle like this. We're not Toph's or Fong's soldiers. We're _your _Raiders, and you took command of these people because they were more like the Sandbender tribes than regular Earthbenders." She made sound somewhere between a snort and a chuckle. "You wanted an army which would seamlessly work with the strategy you wanted to employ, and you got it, but now you need to make sure to don't break them by forcing them to go beyond their limits." Kya sighed. "That's what _Toph_ does. Not you."

"Toph seems to be doing better than we are."

Kya shook her head. "If they're doing so well, then why hasn't she beaten the Roses yet? And didn't her strategy leave her defeated at Gaoling? You know as well as I do that it's not a matter of whether or not she's going to drive her troops into the ground, it's a matter of _when_."

Aang stood up, and walked out of the tent, heading for his sleeping roll.

"Just a few hours. That's it."

"Yes, Avatar Aang."

---

Fourteen months.

That's how long this new war has been raging.

Zuko understood, perhaps better than anyone else, how unwilling some people were to let go of what had happened during the war. It had started with a rebellion. Two of the Earth Kingdom's city-states, all along the southwestern area. Earth King Kuei had sent troops to pacify the rebellion, but they were hit harder that they'd been expecting. Two other cities had been waiting to declare their secession until the Earth King's forces moved in. Kuei had no choice but to draft as many soldiers as possible as the vast army made it's made across the country.

Which is when it was discovered that they had Firebenders working for them.

---

"Avatar Aang?" Kya said, outside the tent.

"Yes?"

"You didn't go to sleep, did you?"

"I did."

"_Right_. Well, you asked me to get you now."

"Finally," Aang groaned as he started to get up. He walked out of the tent slowly, and looked around. It was close to sunset. "Right," he muttered to himself. He straightened up, and amplified his voice with a nifty Airbending trick he'd learned a few years ago. "Odds are that the Roses are relatively close to us. We got hurt pretty bad, but so did _they_, and I don't see them walking for…" Kya leaned over and whispered something in his ear, "for three hours straight."

Both sides had massive amounts of wounded soldiers, but while Aang's forces had stayed put and cared for them, the Roses had retreated, and so been forced to _keep_ retreating. But they couldn't travel far in their condition, and as it was getting close to nightfall, the natural fatigue of a day's wakefulness would combine with the exhaustion of the battle.

Aang guessed that they'd be within an hour's travel, probably starting to get to sleep just as Aang and his troops reached them.

"Poi," he said, moving through the camp, his voice still amplified, "I want you to get yourself and three hundred other able bodies together, and get ready to launch the main assault. Chong, you and your men are coming with me. We're going to sniff out the Roses. Sela, get yours together, and take Appa; I want you scouting above and before us, alright? If you spot them from the sky, then you know the signal." Aang clapped his hands together, and the sound reverberated through the camp. "Alright! Everybody who has a job, start doing it! I want everybody moving out in fifteen minutes."

"Are you really planning on leaving without getting something to eat?" Kya asked.

"I'll be fine."

"You haven't eaten at all today."

"I've gone without for longer," Aang responded, and it was true.

"There's fifteen minutes before anything happens. You gave the orders yourself. So go eat something."

Aang looked at her curiously. "I thought _I _was the one giving orders."

"We both know your wife specifically told me to make sure you don't kill yourself. She didn't like your condition when she met you last time."

Aang sighed, and began walking over to a fire, where a few of his soldiers were sitting down. He dropped down onto the ground, cross-legged, and someone handed him a bowl of thick jook. "We're going to need to re-supply soon, if all we've got is this."

"And that's the _other_ reason you need to eat, Avatar Aang," Kya said as she passed by, heading toward another patient. "We only ever re-supply when you actually eat, and realize that we've run out of everything but porridge and stale hardtack."

He blinked. "We still have bread?"

"No," one of the other soldiers around the fire said. "We ran out of that yesterday. You've been rather out of it lately, when we haven't been in a battle."

He certainly couldn't argue with that. The past month had been more or less a blur, except for when they'd ambushed another regiment about two weeks back, which he could recognize with perfect clarity. They had struck at dawn, destroyed a good month's worth of supplies and killed forty-three men, and withdrawn in under twenty minutes. Aang's best one yet.

Aang inhaled deeply through his nose, and let it out slowly.

"How much longer until we move out?" he asked.

"Eleven minutes," someone answered, and Aang plunged a spoon (how did he get a spoon?) into the jook, regretfully, and began to slowly eat.

Somehow, he had forgotten how hungry he was until he started to eat.

---

Zuko had thrown most of the traitors and war criminals in prison, but not all of them. Some were overlooked, others ran away, and there were many who waited to commit this greatest of treacheries until they had made it past the Fire Nation's borders.

The Fire Nationals were dissatisfied with the Fire Lord's policies. They wanted to recover the honor they thought he had taken from them. Blood and glory were what they were fighting for. Since regaining the throne, however, Kuei had been making an effort to recentralize power in the Earth Kingdom, aided by Toph— Queen of Omashu for all of three months, before ceding control over to Kuei in what was pretty much just a lot of ceremony and pomp. It was because of this that the fleeing Fire Nationals found kindred spirits in some of those who had once been their enemies.

Perhaps the Council of Five would have dealt with the uprising better had one of their number not been one of the traitors. As it was, General Chung had not only left, but he had declared his allegiance through the killing of another of the generals.

---

The woods were thick here, and he couldn't help but think about Jet and his "Freedom Fighters," now that he was walking around in the very place where they'd met. True, Aang and his troops hadn't yet been reduced to "ragtag band of revolutionaries," but they used many of the same tactics. They hit the enemy where it hurt most, retreated before they could take many casualties, and hid themselves well. Except for today, when the Roses somehow managed to come across them.

And there was something else he had in common in Jet, he decided, wandering through the forest, cutting down a path with a quick air-blade whenever the path was obstructed. He was starting to become just as obsessed as Jet was with destroying the opposition. Strike, and strike again, and _again_, and kill every last one of them. Once upon a time, less than a year ago, but an eternity away regardless, he had worried about the fact that he wasn't worried about this.

"How many do you think are left?" he whispered, looking up into the sky. "Any sort of estimate would be nice. Just make sure you tell me how rough the guessing is."

"Less than five hundred, with most of those wounded."

Good, then. They'd be outnumbered, but Aang had the element of surprise, and the numbers were mostly equal anyways, not even considering that the majority of the Roses were injured, while all of his men were stitched-up and well-rested.

It was about half an hour later that he saw Appa, while looking up again, and seconds later various lines of dirt rose up, arranged in specific patterns. Aang knelt down and read what had been brought up.

He stood up and turned around. "Shu. Go back and meet up with Poi, tell him that they're twenty minutes away, south-southeast."

Shu ran off, and Aang took another look at the sky. "Perhaps we should wait until it starts to get a bit darker," he said to himself, but he shrugged and kept on walking. "When we get there, I want all of you to run straight through. Hit who you come across, but concentrate mainly on disrupting them and staying alive as you do so. When we attack, they're going to be disorganized, and we need to further that." Aang spun his staff, creating a light half-second breeze, and kept on walking, and a little more than twenty minutes later, Aang and the advance scouts came upon the Red Rose camp.

Aang couldn't tell how many there really were, given that the trees really obscured things, but the readings that Sela had given confirmed the five-hundred-or-so estimate given. The few soldiers that he _could _see were either huddled around the fires or lying on the ground by countless others like themselves.

He spun his staff and closed his eyes for a second. "Time to go," he whispered, and Aang was off like an arrow.

---

The Fire Lord had wasted no time in coming to the aid of the Earth Kingdom, and the Water Tribes, though slower to react (isolationism in the north, and reconstruction in the south) still arrived in the end. The advance was slowed, but not entirely halted, and more cities joined the banner of the Red Rose.

It was most peculiar, the reaction of Iroh and Zuko when they learned what was on the army's flag.

The Army of the Red Rose made use of stolen tanks from both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, as well as new tanks constructed from the scrap of decommissioned ones. An airship was under their control, and they had half a fleet, made up of a hodgepodge of Fire Navy ships, Earth Kingdom ferries outfitted with weaponry, and several submarines, though how they were being crewed was anybody's guess.

---

_Imagine the following:_ Today you have ambushed a relatively small force of soldiers which has been continually harassing your side, striking and running and never losing even close to the amount of resources and men that your side does. But you have finally confronted them on your terms, and though you quickly realize that they were not so weak in such a situation as you thought, the tanks and infantry still grind forward relentlessly. Until their commander manages to kill yours, and then vanishes back into the chaos of the battle, killing more men than any other four soldiers combined and single-handedly destroying nearly every last tank you had.

You don't really know how you lost, exactly, but you did. You were driven back, and routed, and only five hundred of you survived. You retreated for an hour, all of you bleeding, broken, battered, until you could not go on any longer. There wasn't even any time to bury the dead, or cremate them. Then you feel that you can finally rest, and you do. You try to patch up the wounded, but even as of this moment, hours later, you are not done, because right now "the wounded" is just another word for "every last one of us."

And now, suddenly, the safety you thought you had vanishes. Figures race through the camp, and your fellow soldiers are falling as blades cut through them, or arrows pierce their bodies. Orders are yelled out, and you hear the sound of swords being unsheathed, while the air sizzles and the ground rolls under the might of Benders.

Ping drew his sword, and gathered with the other soldiers who were nearby. Two of the attackers came at them, and they charged forward, entering what should have been a one-sided battle to their advantage, but their targets fell down flat to the ground. An arrow was fired from this prone position while the other rolled just a little bit out of the way, and a second later, this was all very low on anyone's priorities.

His brother screamed in the half-lit darkness as his chest suddenly opened up as if a sword had been shoved through it, and then two other people near him collapsed, staining the ground with their blood. Ping turned around and searched the darkness for their assailant, backing up slowly to Quon and Chan. In the distance, if he was seeing the color right, it looked as if one of their attackers had just died, but there was a chuckle in the darkness, amid the yells and screams, and his excitement fled instantly.

"Did you hear that?" Quon asked.

It was only a foot way when he heard the chuckle again, but it was almost instantly covered up by Quon's wet screams— a punctured lung, Ping noted in the back of his mind— but even this wasn't given much time for consideration before he could no longer feel his legs, and the earth came up to meet him as a sharp pain devoured his chest.

Before his eyes closed for the very last time, Ping caught a glimpse of Chan's face growing a manic grin, as he threw a flame at their attacker.

The Firebender had always seemed to be so psychotic. The thought enters his mind so abruptly, and he has barely enough time to consider how strange this thought is before he doesn't have any more thoughts ever again.

---

The Roses seemed to be such a ragtag force, and yet… they had access to things they shouldn't have, and they were marching ever onward, encroaching steadily upon Ba Sing Se. The great war machine of the four cities rolled across the landscape, striking here and then there, utilizing the best tactics of both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, melding them together into something greater than its component parts.

Though the Fire Nation had proven to be a formidable force, a series of crushing defeats forced Fire Lord Zuko to withdraw his forces, and ensure the safety of the Colonies, and the Homelands. The Southern Water Tribe were stationed in the waters surrounding Ba Sing Se, like Full Moon Bay, and the waters on either side of Serpent's Pass. The greatfleets of Sinaliarpok launched amphibious assaults against coastal regiments of the Red Rose and backed up the island forces of General Pong in the south, and the Earth Kingdom struck wherever they could, slowly adapting to their enemy's tactics.

---

Aang flipped into the air, avoiding another blast of fire, and a gust of wind propelled him a dozen feet forward. Rolling into the landing, he threw another blade of air at the Firebender, leapt up to avoid the swing of a sword from behind him, and delivered a flaming kick to whoever had attacked him.

The yell was enough to confirm that he'd hit someone, and Aang turned his attention back to the Firebender, who thrust his arms forward and let loose a spout of flame. Twisting to the side, Aang had barely enough time to react to a second blast, fired at the exact spot he had moved into before he'd even begun to dodge. He jumped upward and spun his staff, dispersing most of the flames, though not quite enough that the resulting heat didn't nearly burn him on its own.

The Firebender charged forward, fire rushing from his hands and ending just a short distance away, creating a shape rather reminiscent of a dagger. Aang readied himself for what appeared to be a flip backwards, but at the last moment jumped straight up and pushed himself just a little bit forward with a second-long wind. The Firebender had already reacted, slicing upward with one of his knives, and Aang tried to slip away from it, receiving only a slight burn as it grazed him. A quick raise of the earth launched him a foot in the air, letting him get back to his feet as he sent a quick punch into the air, delivering his own fiery blast, though the Firebender merely stepped an inch backward and pushed his hand _through_ the flames, taking possession of them for himself, in a manner similar to Aang's earlier trick in the previous battle.

Aang launched himself into the air and sent off three blasts in quick succession, then followed it up with Earthbending a boulder behind the Firebender and launching it at him. But a few quick steps and thrusts took care of the fire while getting him out of the boulder's way. By the look on the Firebender's face, it was just dumb luck, and he was as surprised as Aang to see the rock go past him. Coming down to the ground, he waved his arm as an strong upward wind slowed him down, and he collapsed softly into sand before it changed once again and lifted him up to his feet, while a wall of stone was risen in front of him. A quick motion brought up another wall, this on his right, just as a piece of stone came flying towards him, and another movement of his arm sent the wall flying forward, smashing the Earthbender up against a tree. There was an audible crack, though Aang couldn't tell if that was from the man's bones or the tree breaking in two.

The Firebender raced toward him, blasting fire at Aang, and as he dodged them he lifted up his right arm and thrust it to the side, picking up the slab of stone and sending it flying into a mass of Roses. Most of them seemed half-dead already, from the wounds of the previous battle. The Firebender seemed suspiciously healthy, though, bearing nothing more than some burns and scratches, plus a single, shallow cut that Aang had only recently given him.

This was rather unsettling, for some reason.

Aang redoubled his efforts, throwing out a flurry of air-knives, but the Firebender reacted before Aang had even managed to send the first half-dozen out, propelling himself into the air with his flames. As he fell down to the earth, pushing himself this way and that, sending himself up just a little bit further again, weaving away from Aang's attacks with an agility that rivaled the Avatar's. And as he got closer, the last thing Aang saw of him was a manic grin before he released a raging torrent of flame that suddenly rushed back and consumed the Firebender amid the sound of his laughter.

Ash fell from the sky, the forest burned, and a horn was blown as Poi and his men entered the battle. Doing it from all sides had taken just a little longer to get everyone in position, but at least now they could be assured of getting every last one.

---

The heroes of The War quickly ascended through the ranks, and it wasn't all that surprising to Aang that he and Toph were leading armies, or that Zuko was drawing war plans for an entire nation in the Royal Palace while Katara captained the largest ship within a dozen leagues of Ba Sing Se. Aang's own army was responsible for the all the land between the Great Divide and Taku, a city destroyed during The War though currently somewhat reconstructed. It was one of the two major strategic points in Aang's domain— the other being Pohuai— and not only would be the place of any last stand, if there ever was one, but also was the source for most of the resources needed by Aang's forces, due to the port here.

Taku was the place where he'd last seen Katara, seven months ago, just before she was given a position on the _Red Gale_.

Aang tried to keep his distance from the Amy of the Red Rose, striking from nowhere and withdrawing before an effective counterattack could be made, using every dirty trick in the book, and it was hard to tell if it was working. Certainly, he hadn't been getting any orders from anyone else to change tactics, but other than that, it really depended on how you looked at it. The divisions of Roses in this area were having little success in advancing forward for more than a few days before severed supply lines and attrition forced them to return, but they weren't getting _pushed back_, either.

---

"We've gotten them all, Avatar Aang."

"You haven't taken any prisoners? We can't keep any, you know."

The man shook his head.

"That's good, then. Casualties? On our side," he clarified.

"Eight of us are dead from this battle, and three times that have some sort of serious wound."

Kya was right. They couldn't handle themselves properly in a prolonged, one-on-one battle. But Aang had known that even before Kya had said it. This was just something which had needed to be done. He looked around. "We'll need to put out the fires. And bury the fallen." He turned around, stopped, and spoke again. "Only ours. We need to get moving as quickly as possible. We've been bloodied up too much, and we need to get far away from here before any other Roses find us."

Aang walked a short distance away and then, amid the stench of blood and burning bodies, he collapsed to his knees. Even when there was nothing left in his stomach, it took several minutes before he stopped throwing up.

* * *

**A/N **New poll up on my profile. What do you think happened to Azula? If the poll isn't working, just PM me, and I'll keep track.


	7. Rest, and Start Again

**A/N **Wooh... Almost didn't make the deadline. It's still Sunday, though, from where I'm at. Sorry if any of you didn't get it then, though. This is the first time I was able to get on the computer today.

_The Dead People List: _General Shinu, The Rough Rhinos, Sokka, Captain Yung, General How. The Twins, Master Piandao, Fat, Fire Sage Shyu.

_Poi _and _Ping_, natives of Makapu Village, were slain during the mopping-up in Gaipan. Poi was killed when an air-knife went through his chest, and Ping was killed similarly, after an air-knife had also through his legs.

_Master Piandao_ was found dead on the morning after the events of Chapter Five. His body was almost completely burnt, and the Fire Lord ordered that his estate be transferred over to direct ownership of the Royal Family. It's rumored that Piandao suspected that he was in danger, based on his demeanor for several days prior to his death.

_Fat _is missing, and presumed dead, given the fate of his master. Possibly the one who killed Piandao in the first place, though.

_Shyu _was killed only a week after after Piandao's death, apparently having had his throat slit. Besides the wound, he was completely clean of any sort of mark except for a massive burn covering his whole forehead.

_

* * *

Review Replies  
_

_Shadow Wasserson: Let's see if I have this straight. Toph became Queen of Omashu, but then ceded control to Ba Sing Se. Some of the Earth Kingdom cities were unhappy with that, so allied themselves with some members of the Fire Nation, who joined them for glory alone, and are fighting Ba Sing Se's forces. _Toph didn't start any of this, inadvertently or otherwise. Kuei was trying to bring all the city-states of the Earth Kingdom back under his direct control, and centralize it again. Before this, for centuries the Earth Kingdom was pretty divided. They were more similar to each other than any other nation, but they lacked the sort of centralization that the Fire Nation had. Think of it as being like the Water Tribes, except that you have this sort of situation for every major city. The Tribes (and cities) are more inclined to work with each other than with foreigners, due to a shared history, culture, ethnicity, and so on, but in the end they're independent. Kuei, though, was trying to retake control of the entire Earth Kingdom, and not everybody liked this. Toph was merely one of a great many people who ceded control to Kuei. And the Fire Nation soldiers? I won't quite explain what's going on yet. If I say "Zuko is behind it all," don't assume Zuko is behind it all. If I say "Zuko is not behind it all," don't assume Zuko is not behind it all. There are wheels within wheels in the CoOP universe, and some of those wheels have existed for centuries. If I've done my job right, I'll keep you guessing about what'll happen even with Avatar Hahn's Story, even though I'll have already told you how it ended before I even start it.

_

* * *

__Points: _53 (47 till next clue)

Yup. You've earned yourselves a clue. And here it is:

Zuko is the reincarnated pattern-type of either Avatar Roku or Fire Lord Sozin.

* * *

**Chapter Six: Rest, and Start Again**

_Water Year 1106_

_The Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

Fast-forward four months, three battles, and too many fallen comrades later. Aang had been sitting in the camp, eating some of the last good bread they had, thankful that they'd be at Taku tomorrow and be able to get more supplies. And what did he see but a group of Komodo Rhinos entering the camp. He didn't pay them much attention— if they'd gotten this far into the camp without any noise, then they were obviously cleared with the sentries— until they spotted him, and the leader slipped off her Komodo and came toward him, not quite running, but certainly going faster than just a walking pace.

She'd told him that Zuko had been able to reorganize his forces, due to a recent technological development from The Mechanist, and while Zuko's military was unable to participate in the way that the Water Tribes were, or the Earth Kingdom itself, he had offered to extend his protection from the Fire Colonies to the area which Aang's forces patrolled and defended. The Council of Five had, in the meantime, granted Aang a period of leave which he hadn't even requested (and hadn't even wanted, to tell the truth).

They had all but forced him to leave, once again pulling the "You'll kill yourself if you keep going like this" card, pointing out that even his subordinates had short periods of leave. When he was told that it would be "indefinite, pending the needs of the Council and the Earth King," though, he knew it was more because of how he had handled the battle at Gaipan. He shouldn't have pursued the survivors afterward, or perhaps he should have cut his losses and run at the very beginning, so that he might turn around and hit them later on.

Regardless, here he was, touching down with Appa on one of the balcony-like platforms of the Northern Air Temple. There was a monk there already, and had probably been waiting since they'd heard that the Avatar was coming. Aang handed him his traveling cloak and walked past, giving a farewell to Appa as he headed inside.

In the deeper recesses of his heart, Aang holds a certain degree of disgust for these people. He conceals it, though, conceals it so well that even he is unable to realize that he has anything more than a slight irritation with them. Aang is very good at hiding things now, especially from himself. It's switches from role to role without effort, and it is no wonder that he is able to maintain the act for so long. One must question what he would do were he to understand that The War had changed him more than he'd thought.

Appa gives a slight noise as the monk, who has folded Aang's cloak and put it aside, walks over to another area of the balcony and begins to pull over a container of hay. A pair of other monks come out, taking a brief moment to awe over Aang (they think he doesn't notice, but he does, and it makes him resent them even more) and then they continue on, starting to wash Appa. War does not help one's attempts to keep clean the coat of a Sky Bison.

Look here— They have prepared him a wonderful room, with all manner of comforts. A nice chair, a feather bed, a selection of fresh fruits, the latter probably having been rushed to his room the moment they learned of his appearance. Or, just as likely, placed there the moment they'd learned he was coming at all, and switched out on a regular basis.

Aang does not notice what he thinks of this. He makes up an excuse for leaving, and while it is a good one, the truth is that he simply wants to find a single moment in this place where there aren't a hundred signs of its inhabitants' adoration for him.

They don't even deserve to be here, he doesn't let himself think, though the feeling remains.

* * *

It's been a day since he arrived. He visits Appa sometimes, when the monks aren't around, but otherwise avoids all contact of any kind. He is a ghost, a haunt, a spook, and he is only there for a fraction of second before he is gone. Those who see him don't see him for very long, and Aang tries to stay in the less-traveled hallways, anyhow. Since the monks came, the Sanctum had been reserved for Aang's use only, and the machinery The Mechanist once used to open it is long gone.

This is where he sleeps, and he gets food by raiding the fruit bowl placed in his room. They never fail to rotate the fruit.

Aang is getting restless. He wants to go back into the field, to help with the war effort. He shouldn't be here. He's the Avatar. His duty is to help the world, not stay in a Temple populated by pathetic monks who disgrace the very term with their mere existence.

But he doesn't let himself realize this. He's kept himself sane through the killing only by not allowing any self-examination. He keeps himself focused on other things, and he's memorized the faces of the past twenty incarnations of the Avatar who came before him, and the information that's placed there, and he can recite it all in his sleep now. Reconstructions of the statues from the other three Temples, he wonders how far back the statues go.

He hopes he'll be called back into the field before he finds out.

_Water Year 1106_

_Maniyok. The South Pole_

"What do you want!?" Katara yelled, responding to the knocking on the door.

"We're going to be docking in Maniyok in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, okay. Whatever," she said, not really paying attention. "Just leave me alone and tell me when we're close."

"That's what I was just doing," came the response from the other side of the door.

"Oh. Right. When are we docking?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Thank you. Now leave me alone."

"Of course, Captain Katara."

The title left an ill feeling in her, but she ignored it. She had been hurt when her father had left, and gone off to The War, leaving her behind with Sokka and Gran-Gran, but what was she doing right now, but the exact same thing? Since this new war had started up, she'd seen her own son maybe only a dozen times or so. Over the course of _two whole years_. And now that she was stationed at Maniyok, she'd be seeing him even less. And if she died now, her son wouldn't even have any memories of her. At least she'd had that, when her father left.

Katara is well aware of the irony inherent in her situation. _Too _aware.

Too often, the pain from things like this can only be dealt with when one ignores it, or calls it something else. She's not tempted to drown it in sake during every moment of off-duty time anymore, though, so she counts her current state as an improvement. She knows how Aang is, too, and she's met Toph once since the Army of the Red Rose began marching, and she's glad that she isn't having as hard a time as they are. Glad that she's not dealing with it the way they are (and glad that she's never had to see Aang in battle, because she's heard what he's like, and she doesn't want to be forced to question which is the real Aang, and if she really knows him all that well anymore).

She hasn't gotten around to removing the half-empty bottle from the bottom drawer of her desk, though, and sometimes it still calls to her, sitting silently in that dark compartment, barely half a dozen steps away from where she's sitting on her bed by a makeshift shrine, begging Tui and La to keep what's left of her family safe.

There's still some time left before they get to shore, and she can walk into Maniyok, and suffocate her thoughts in tactics and strategies (she never knew there was a difference, back when she was just an optimistic "water peasant" girl with barely fourteen winters behind her), trying to figure out how to best protect the city in the event of an attack. So Katara tries to think of other things.

The _Red Gale_ had been positioned in Full Moon Bay since the start of the war, and she'd been placed there eleven months ago. Nearly a full year, Katara realizes when she thinks it, and she's surprised that she's been here for so long. She'd been immediately given the position of Second Officer, given responsibility over navigation (her predecessor had stayed onboard for a little while to teach her some of the finer details she hadn't known) and the medical team (during which time, she managed to teach her predecessor a thing or two). When the Captain had died but a few months ago, it'd only been a week before she'd been promoted to Captain. She had learned everything quick enough, and the crew would follow her to the Spirit World and back.

Katara wasn't as experienced as some other candidates, but people were dying by the shipload, and there wasn't anybody who knew the ship like she did. She had been, to be frank, simply _obsessed _with it when she'd first come. It had been the first of many crutches she'd used, and had kept her off the sake for a little time, as she learned everything about it, right down to the smallest gear. When she was examining the engine, she just knew that Sokka would have—

Don't go there, she tells herself. She's going to have to break that bottle someday to get rid of the temptation. Someday. Eventually. Just not right now. Because right now, it's simply comforting because it's there, because the possibility exists.

She shouldn't have to deal with this, but she tries to take a small comfort in the knowledge that she's better off than a lot of others.

"Whatever happened to you Toph?" she whispers. The blind Earthbender girl was worse off than Aang. At least Katara could (pretend to) convince herself that the stories about Aang were an exaggeration, stories told by devoted subordinates who didn't realize that the last thing he would want was people thinking that he could kill so easily, and so well. But Toph…

There was a reason why Katara had only met with her once since the war began. She couldn't put her finger on what was, exactly, but _everyone_ knew that there was something Toph was struggling to deal with. And it seemed to Katara that, well, Toph was losing.

And her father is off fighting the Roses as they try to break through Poi's forces around the lower islands, while Zuko succumbs to the stress of keeping his nation safe after such disastrous losses. Iroh is struggling with a growing limp, and though nobody says anything, everybody knows that it's just a symptom of worse things. Haru has already fallen, The Mechanist is slowly losing touch with the outside world as he tries to come up with something to beat the Roses with, and—

"We're about to dock, Captain," says a voice from behind the door, and Katara brushes a bit of hair from in front of her eyes, gets up, dries her face, and walks out.

"Thank you," she says, and she makes her way to the end of the ship, where the city of Maniyok stands, thankful less for the reminder than the interruption of her thoughts which it had given. In just a few minutes, she's walking down the ramp, already starting to talk to the other military officers in the city, discussing all the possible avenues of attack. The _Red Gale_, along with the other ships already here, should be more than enough to defend against even the largest assault. They'd have to cross through the bay to reach the city, meaning that they'd be forced to withstand fire from every ship in the harbor the whole time. And the talks go on from there.

Though she does her best to focus on organizing the defense of the city, she can't shake herself of one thought: If this war doesn't kill them, it'll scar them so horribly that death would have been a blessing.

_Water Year 1106_

_The Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

Only a little more than a millennium.

That's how far the statues go back. It took him only a couple of days, but, admittedly, he cheated a little bit. He soon stopped trying to memorize the information, and just read, and went back to interesting bits now and then, and eventually just walked past, taking a glance at the names and faces before moving on. Sometimes, there'd be an interesting looking one, and then Aang would stop again and take a closer look.

There's a statue of a tall Water Tribesman here, at the end of the line. There's no name to go with him, either. He has a vague recollection of being told that, while he appeared in all three Temples, there was an Avatar whose name hadn't been given in the records. It wasn't like it had been rubbed off or something like that, either. It had never been placed there to start with.

Aang wandered the Sanctuary, trying to find something else to catch his interest. He _really_ didn't want to go outside, and possibly run into one of the monks. Not that he told himself that. He just wanted to see if there was anything else in here. And there was.

Something else which the monks had found to be a rather curious find. At the very rear of the Sanctuary of each Temple, there was a metal safe, often heavily rusted, though still very strong. When they were finally opened up, it was proven that they were of Fire Nation manufacture, but they had not been forged through any currently known method, as the metal was a highly impure alloy by modern standards. It seemed to be very old, is the point. That they were even created in the Fire Nation was not discovered until a little bit after they were opened, though, because what was inside had attracted more attention.

Three stone masks. They may have been painted once, but if they had been, it had faded away with the passing of time. One of the three was the same for each of the safes. A highly abstract mask, with two shallow ovals carved into the front, the two of them taking up almost the entirety of the face. A few other lines carved in here and there, but nothing too detailed. Had it been a drawing, it would have been the result of two minutes' work, provided that the artist didn't make wobbly circle things, like Sokka used to.

About the other two, though. The other two contained in each safe were always unique, and always _very _different.

Aang shrugged, and decided to see what these would be. After removing the first one, the abstract, and placing it to the side, he reached inside and pulled out the second. It was the face of an owl, round as a plate, beady little eyes carved in. a beak protruded from it, only slightly, although as Aang looked at it closer, it was apparent that the mask had originally been of the same thickness as the others, and had been filed down, so that the beak might be shaped how it was. The third mask was that of an old man, with a long, trailing mustache and eyebrows of a similar length and style, of the kind found among the Earth Kingdom scholar-officials of old, back when the Earth Kingdom was fully united under the Earth King. The practice had remained for a long time, but it was during that time, nearly a dozen centuries ago, that the scholar-officials were at the height of their influence.

Aang chuckled just a little bit, when he realized that the mask's wrinkles were literally carved in.

_Water Year 1106_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

It was a map of the world, larger even than the one which was used for the usual war planning. Only a handful of people ever entered this room, which was barely large enough to allow one to move along the edges of the map without stepping on it. It was painted onto the flooring, though, so walking on it was of no consequence, and necessary, actually, to reach the center, some twenty feet away.

To the casual observer, this map, with it's oversized proportions and thousands upon thousands of small tiles— each one representing a given value of soldiers, a strategic objective, or the like— was merely a highly detailed (perhaps overly detailed) rendering of the world. But to certain people of that world which was so depicted, it would have at once given them the impression of looking at a massive Pai Sho board, though with five colors, rather than the usual two. These people are the sort who would have understood the value of the White Lotus tile just about where the Capital City would be, and the two dozen Knotweed tiles off to the side, nowhere in particular, waiting to be played. And they would have understood why it there was but one White Dragon tile, and why it was being nudged by a long pole to a place corresponding to the Northern Air Temple.

"He should be..." Zuko thought for a moment. "He should be _safe_, there. We should all be safer, in fact."

The door opened up, but Zuko did not move from his place on the map, standing with one foot between the Temple and Ba Sing Se, and the other in the ocean, between the Temple and the city Sinaliarpok. The two Dai Li who were with him would see to it that he was not in harm's way, and if not, then his attackers would regret crossing the world's greatest Firebender.

Perhaps it was not the most humble of thoughts, but the Fire Lord had long ago given up humility, exchanging it instead for a cold assessment of his abilities, and merely worked to prevent the growth of arrogance. It wouldn't do for him to get overly cocky, but it would be just as harmful for him to undersell himself, too.

"Fire Lord Zuko," General Chung said in a low voice, and Zuko waited a moment before turning around, giving the general time to bow, as was only appropriate for the man to do.

"How goes the war?" Zuko asked.

"Excellent. I must thank you for moving further down through the Earth Kingdom. It's made things _much _simpler."

"Hopefully not _too_ simple? It wouldn't do for you to suddenly call off the attacks on my armies, General Chung. People might… _suspect_." Zuko paused, and frowned. "Forget that. They'd _know_. I'd had enough trouble trying to pull out of the war, and while it seems that they've bought my excuse as to how I'm now suddenly able to defend more territory, the game is not yet assured. There are many pieces still to be played."

Chung motioned toward the Knotweed tiles. "Those, you mean?"

"If you don't understand the significance of those tiles…" Zuko paused. "Congratulations."

"What?"

"I'd have to kill you if you knew what they meant."

The general swallowed, and tried to grin. "That was a joke, right?"

"Not at all," the Fire Lord replied. "The only reason I'm letting you in here is because you have no idea what half of this means, and you're not some sort of memory prodigy who could remember enough of it to be useful to one of the people who _does_ know what it all means. And there is _much_ that could go wrong still, Chung."

"We're moving slowly, yes, but we're advancing on ever further. There's nothing to worry about."

The Fire Lord shook his head, and slightly moved the pole he had been using to position the tiles. "There is _much_ to worry about. For one thing, Aang is still alive."

"Why do you constantly refer to him by his name?" Chung asked. "I wouldn't expect you to be so _familiar_ with him, with the situation being what it is."

"I may be trying to kill Aang," Zuko shrugged, "but he's still my friend. I'm just being pragmatic about all this. It's not some nameless Avatar whose face I've never seen, it's _Aang_ who might need to die for my plans to go through."

"Don't you mean _our_ plans?"

"You want to control the Earth Kingdom, Chung. That is _your_ plan. _My_ plan exists on a much larger scale."

"It's always the world, when it comes to the Fire Nation, isn't it?"

Zuko smiled. "Don't you know it. There's balance," Zuko said, and then he looked down at the map, "and then there's _balance_." His grin widened. "Now what did you need, anyways?"

"Supplies. The Southern Tribe has moved their largest ship, along with many others, to the South Pole, in the harbor of Maniyok. I was hoping that you might be able to 'lose' a few more of your own ships."

A hand was held up, signaling General Chung to wait, and the Fire Lord examined the board, walking here and there. Were Maniyok to fall… In his mind's eye, tiles rearranged themselves rapidly, armies moving, advancing, retreating, cities falling, others holding, and a rapid increase in red tiles— the tiles of his conspirator Chung— rapidly increased as the Southern Tribe navy fragmented, until, quite suddenly, a threshold was reached. Aang was cornered, and beaten, if he had not been killed before, Toph and her stubbornly resilient soldiers cut off and surrounded on all sides, and, _finally_, Ba Sing Se falls, and all the Earth Kingdom is Chung's. For as long as Zuko lets him have it.

It would not be the first time that Ba Sing Se would receive the killing blow from within. The Dai Li agents which How had planted inside were even now waiting for their orders, and one had even, in the past month, been inducted into the Royal Earthbender Guards, though they did much more than just guard the life of Earth King Kuei, and the agent had not yet been able to gain access to him.

"Your request," the Fire Lord said, "is granted. My servant How will explain the details. It'll be according to Plan South Blue, How."

"Appropriate enough," How smiled as he led General Chung away, "but rather lacking in subtlety."

The "servant" knew that subtlety in the name was unnecessary, though. All such documents were written an obscure dialect of Agni Bogo, which was not merely a Pre-Hahn language, but actual _Kotengo_; it was old enough to have been considered old when _Avatar Hahn_ was around one thousand years ago. It dated back to before the Third Devastation, an event none remembered now, except for a privileged few, such as Zuko himself. It had no native speakers any longer (indeed, Zuko was unsure if he was even pronouncing it correctly, given that the alphabet was different as well) and existed solely for such a purpose as this. Less than fifty people in the world knew it, all had been taught personally by Zuko or Bujing, and only twelve knew how to break the code it had been written in.

He was reasonably sure that it was impossible to break a code when you didn't know the language, and equally impossible to decipher a language when you didn't even realize that it was in code, let alone what the code was.

_Water Year 1106_

_The Eastern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

Guru Pathik was old. He had known Gyatso, once, and even the late King Bumi of Omashu had not been as old as Pathik. After the holocaust of the Air Nomads, he had wandered for many years in the wilderness, until he received a vision in a fire amid a storm, telling him that he would meet the Avatar in the Eastern Air Temple. He left at once and, _many_ years later, did indeed meet him.

In the meantime, though, he lived a simple life, according to a very exact schedule. The same thing, every day, at the same exact time. You could set your time candle to it. He only deviated from it for more than a few minutes when dealing with the Avatar. Even when the monks came to the Temples, he talked to them only in the middle of traveling from one task to another, and would commonly stop talking mid-sentence— mid-_word_— when it was time for his meditations, of which there were a great many in a day.

Aang had asked Pathik many times about the Air Nomads, but received no real answer, so the Avatar cannot be held at fault for what has happened.

Pathik has died today, and this may not seem very important, given that he never really altered anything, in the end. Even the Avatar State was mastered without him, in the end, for how little it was worth in the scheme of things. But there is something about him which makes his death very important, and time will tell whether he was the _stupidest_, most _foolish_ man to ever live, or the wisest, most self-sacrificing.

To put it quite simply, I would do well to repeat something which I said a long time ago, when I first began this tale: Airbenders live a long time.

If you don't understand, start over at the beginning.

In time, there will be a new beginning for this whole world, so you may as well get some practice with the small stuff.

_Water Year 1106_

_Maniyok, The South Pole_

Days passed as Katara and the other planned.

Twenty minutes ago she'd learned that a heavily battered Earth Kingdom ship bearing General Poi's banner had arrived, requesting permission to dock. She had been sent to the captain to find out what had happened and, well, here she was.

"—and so, since the north was blocked, we went south. But even that way, we came across several ships. We had a run-in with them, one which we couldn't just run from, given that the other direction held even more certain death for us. We fought our way through, finally, though we barely made it."

"And there's nothing left of General Poi's fleet?"

"Or of the greatfleet that the Northern Water Tribe had sent to the islands." The captain gulped. "Well, not that we know of, at least. If _we_ got out of there, it's likely that others did. There were ships all along the entire island chain, after all, but so far as we're aware…" He trailed off, and Katara nodded in understanding.

"So you think that the other ships are coming here, to Maniyok?"

He nodded, and there was fear in his eyes, though there was something strange about it. "You need to get your ships out there as quickly as possible, to meet them before they get here. I don't know what they've got that killed us so quickly, but I can guarantee you that if you don't start moving, and they catch you off your guard, they'll decimate you."

"And then the city will be ripe open for an attack. Oh, _Tui and La_," Katara whispered. "Every defense we've planned hinges on the ships," she said slowly, and the captain's lip trembled slightly.

"That's what we thought. I'll send my men with you, so that they can explain the rest to the other captains. We barely got more than a few seconds to witness what that weapon of theirs could do, but you'll need as much information as you can get, Captain Katara."

"And the city…" she whispered to herself, only half-aware that she was nodding in agreement with the captain's offer, "we designed it so that we could cut off avenues of attack, and isolate ourselves in the event of an attack. We were so _stupid!_" Katara began running down the ship, yelling orders.

"_What_ about the city!?" called the captain.

She didn't take the time to respond. She needed to get everyone out there _now_. The city had weakened support structures, so that they could be easily brought down in a controlled manner. But she had just had a thought, and it terrified her. She had a major hand in designing, and she'd overseen much of the construction, and she knew that if someone had access to the plans, they just might figure out a key weakness in the whole system, capable of toppling the whole thing if the job was done right. It had to be precise, so there was only a risk of it if they had access to the plans but _still_... Katara thanked Tui and La and every other spirit she could think of, even considering Koh for a moment, that aside from two or three other architects, the only people who had seen a complete set of the plans— for an incomplete set would not work for the whole city, for the destruction would need to be _exact_— were Aang and the others from The War. And if nothing else, Aang was safe at the moment, being taken out of active duty, Toph of course couldn't read it, and Zuko and most of the others were safely protected within the Fire Nation. Nobody could have seen the plans. Except that one of the architects was from the Earth Kingdom, not the Fire Nation...

Katara continued to yell out orders, commanding every last person to get onto their respective ships and out to sea, telling them to take men from the Earth Kingdom ship. By the time she'd gotten everybody together, she was about ready to faint.

"This can't be happening," she said to herself. "We _can't_ lose this. Not Maniyok. Not after so much work. Not a _second_ time."

The _Red Gale_ sailed out four minutes later, the Earth Kingdom captain and two more of his men aboard the ship— though one seemed to have gone somewhere else on the ship at that moment.

As they sailed further out to sea to meet the incoming fleet, Katara took one last glance out to Maniyok, growing smaller and smaller and ever more out of sight, and began to utter a prayer to the spirits which she'd once heard Gran-Gran say.

She would _die_ before she let the city fall again.

_Great La, receive these hunters into your embrace, that they carry out their journey safely. Great Tui, guide these hunters with your light this night, that they may return safely. If they should die before they return, please receive their souls into your depths, Great La, and please send us the knowledge of their passing, Great Tui, so that we might give their possessions to your husband, for him to deliver to those who have gone away into the deep. Our lifeblood flows with your essence, La, and we turn our eyes forever towards you for guidance, Tui. We ask that you not forget the hunters, for they are part of us, and we are your children, born from your embrace. _

_Let them return safely home, we beg you. _

_---  
_

_Water Year 1106_

_The Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

From a ledge up above, both obscured by shadows but given an excellent vantage point for observation, Aang sat, as Appa ate contentedly from a pile of hay. Aang had some things to think about.

For one thing, he'd never really considered who his people venerated. What spirits did they follow? The Water Tribes recognized the existence of other spirits, but gave reverence only to Tui and La. In the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, one spirit held the highest place of respect— Agni in the Fire Nation, Tu Di Gong in the Earth Kingdom— while thousands of other spirits were revered, depending on one's needs, inclinations, and geographical position. In the Fire Nation, for example, it was the Painted Lady who was the patron spirit of the village Jang Hui, while Hei Bai watched over Senlin Forest in the Earth Kingdom.

But what about the Air Nomads? He had never really given any thought to how he hadn't ever really heard of any one spirit being held over another, perhaps because he subconsciously took this as a sign that all the spirits were respected equally. But recently, since looking at the masks, he began to seriously doubt that. Tian, the Great Spirit of Air, should have been the most highly-placed of spirits to Aang's people, but there was scarcely any mention of him.

And the abstract-face masks. They looked so familiar, for some reason. He just _knew_ that there was something which he was overlooking. It was like he was trying to piece together a puzzle, except that it had thousands of pieces, and each one looked almost exactly like all the others. Aang knew that he had enough information. He just didn't know how to piece it together.

When he was looking at the masks, almost two weeks ago now, he could have sworn that there was someone whispering in his ear. The voice, too, was familiar enough that he knew he'd once heard it, and in a situation where it had made an impact on him, but he couldn't quite place it. It was too indistinct.

During this time when he was absorbed in his thoughts, a young girl came out to play, and to talk to Appa. Unlike the Monks of the past, these monks did split the Temples along gender lines, and the few children who lived in the Temples had been placed at whichever one was closest.

While she talked to Appa, telling him about all the things she learned, she gradually became aware of a pretty-looking flower near him. After asking permission from "Mister Appa" if she could take the leaf, and deciding that the noise he made was an affirmative answer, she picked it up and began to investigate it.

It was such a pretty-looking flower, with a rich green stem, and large, almost electric-blue petals, which were rippling with pinkish veins.

Noticing the girl snapped Aang out of his thoughts, reminding him of his own son, who was somewhere in the Temple. He'd visited once since he'd come here, and he hadn't gone to the boy again. There was some recognition in his son's eyes, yes, but he was only a toddler, really. Aang doubted that his son really understood who he was. Just a nice, strange-looking man (children loved his tattoos, for some reason) who talked to him.

Which was when Aang decided that maybe it would be best if he stayed away. This war would be ending soon enough, but if it dragged on for too long, his son really _would _know him. He really would have a relationship with him, but only of a _sort_. In Aang's opinion, it would be worse than his son not knowing him at all, then to not remember enough. What if he died in a battle? Katara was worried that their son wouldn't have any memories of them if they died before he was old enough to remember. Aang was worried that he _would_ remember them, because he didn't want his child to have to go through life knowing that his parents were dead.

So he swallowed the disgust he didn't know he had, and went to the Council of Elders in the Temple, and requested that, in the event that neither he nor Katara could come back for the child, they find a couple— or at least one person— to raise his son. And at least one of the two had to have enough of a resemblance that he or she could plausibly tell the child they were his parent. Until that time, however, whenever the boy asked questions about what his parents, he was to be told that they were fighting in the war, loved him very much, and would be with him as soon as the war was over. It was true enough, and would also explain the sudden appearance of his "real" parents.

And they were not to treat him any differently than the other children, of course. Aang thought that this would have been obvious, but he was forced to argue the point for nearly half an hour before pulling the "I'm the Avatar" card out on them, and he told them to just do it. One of the few times he was actually grateful for the reaction his title gave him.

Idiot monks… They didn't _deserve_ to be called such. They were mocking the Air Nomads with every step they took. Every imperfect ritual they performed, every custom they took up just because it's what the Air Nomads did— and then having the _audacity _to get it _wrong_— made him furious, filled him with disgust. Fury and disgust which he didn't know he had, wouldn't let himself know he had.

Aang blinked. It _couldn't _have been. He must have been seeing things.

To explain what, exactly, was inspiring his disbelief, he had seen something quite simple. The flower had _moved_. The girl had made a movement with her hand, and the flower had _moved_. There had been just the slightest amount of wind, and the flower had _moved_, and it was when she had _moved her hand_.

She was just the right age, too, for someone who was just starting to learn how to Bend, and was using it more instinctually than consciously.

Aang ran the scene through his head again: Her hand reached out to the flower, which was just out of reach, having been blown away in a short wind. She pulled her hand back with a quick, short movement— just the sort of movement Aang sometimes used to get a soft half-second wind. There was a breeze. _Exactly_ as long as it would have been if Aang had done it, and just as light. The flower had _moved_. Just far enough for her to grab it.

They were coming back.

Aang leapt down from his place on the ledge, and began walking swiftly toward her. He knelt down when he reached the girl. "What's your name, little girl?" he asked.

He wasn't the last one anymore.

She looked up at him with bright green eyes. "Moku," she answered. "Are you the Avatar?"

Aang frowned, but quickly recovered. "Yes. Do you know what you just—" He was cut off when one of the monks came running to him.

"Avatar Aang!" he yelled. "We've been looking for you _everywhere!_ Thank the—"

"What do you need?" Aang growled.

The monk blinked, stepping back and pulling a small piece of parchment from his robes. "It's General Kenji, Avatar," the monk said, and he handed the paper to Aang. "We just got this half an hour ago, and we've been looking everywhere for you. There's a—" but the monk stopped when he heard "Yip Yip!" and the Avatar flew away with Appa, staff and cloak in tow.

There was a battle just short of Serpent's Pass, and General Kenji's forces were losing. If they fell, the Army of the Red Rose would have cleared a path to Ba Sing Se.

Aang didn't worry too much, though. He wasn't alone anymore. The tide was changing. They were going to _win _this.

* * *

**A/N **There's a new poll on my profile: What do you think of Zuko now? If it's not working (for some reason, most of the polls I've tested on FF aren't working), just include your answer in your review, or in a PM. Also, please tell me how the casuality list is affecting things. It's meant to help show some of the other events going on in the world, and there are some clues there, too, but if you think it screws up the story somehow...


	8. Serpent's Pass

_The Casualty List: _General Shinu, The Rough Rhinos, Sokka, Captain Yung, General How. The Twins, Master Piandao, Fat, Fire Sage Shyu. Hakoda, Yugoda, Bujing, Hama.

_Hakoda_ was killed when trying to use his ships to break a blockade created by the Roses to starve out some of the forces General Poi had on one of the Southern Islands. This corresponded to about the same time as when the fleet at Maniyok set sail to meet the Red Rose fleet heading toward the city.

_Yugoda_ has simply died due to a combination of old age and the polar cold, similar to Gran-Gran.

_Minister Bujing_, previously General Bujing, was killed in his sleep with a knife. Upon learning of this, Fire Lord Zuko appeared to be more annoyed than anything else, though it should be noted that he had been getting so little sleep lately that it took him a moment simply to remember who Bujing was.

_Hama _was removed from her jail cell and executed, after an attempted break-in.

* * *

_Review Replies:_

_Alyx the Dark Wanderer: and it doesn't seem to me like __Katara would turn to drinking to try and solve her problems but what do i know...it seems like the war changed everyone so much i don't really recognize them anymore. _Hmm... Given everything that's gone on in their lives so far, I thought that they'd all been cracking a little bit from the pressure. Sokka's dead, they've got kids to worry about, and it's not like they can even point fingers at the Big Bad and then try and take him out, because it doesn't really even seem like there IS one. There are the Greencap forces, who are loyal to Kuei, and then there are the Red Roses, who only want to be left alone and govern themselves. So Aang is cutting himself off from what he's really doing, Katara drinks and gets absorbed in various things (like the ship) so that she can't think about what the war has cost her, and Toph is... Well, you'll see._ and why does Iroh have a limp?_ Two reasons. Firstly, he's a little bit sick. Second, he's old, especially for a prodigy Firebender, and is just starting to feel his age. As will be pointed out a few more times in the series, Firebenders adhere to that candle metaphor- the brighter they are, the quicker they burn out. Interestingly enough, this doesn't apply to the Fire Lord, though, for reasons not entirely clear (or at all) to the general populace._ And where is Mai in all of this?_ Mai is... around. She'll be popping up again in another scene in, oh, about two weeks (chapter after the next one). And then she'll make a brief appearance in the chapter after that. _And is it possible for Toph to ever get back to her old self, or is she too far gone?_ It's not exactly possible for Toph to "get back" to her old self, though this is mainly because, no matter what, she's going to carry some of this along with her for the rest of her life. If the war ended tomorrow and Aang found a colony of Airbenders, he'd still be slightly messed up. So will Toph recover 100% and never deal with any of her current problems again? Not a chance. But will she be able to move on, and adjust? I'm trying not to give anything away, but it's possible for her to do that. Katara, while still having some problems, was able to deal with it to the point where the alcohol was merely a temptation, not something she desperately needed, and sought at every possible occasion. If she hadn't died, she would have gotten to a place where she didn't need it at all.

With regards to Toph, actually, after having finally determined the last scene involving her, and basically the point her life led to, I've become rather interested in seeing a fic follow her through her life. There's going to be quite a lot of interesting events going on, only a few of which are actually revealed (or at least hinted at) in these stories.

_Peya Luna: ok, so he said that he wants to kill aang, but that could have been just as well to fool chung - after all he should be smart enough to know that killing aang wouldn´t really help, he´ll simply would get incarnated again...and it´s obvious that zuko is just using chung for his own means - whatever they are - but leaving him completely in the dark about his plans. _While Aang would certainly just reincarnate again, the time it would take for him to master all the elements again would certainly be enough for Zuko to win, though. Assuming that a twelve-year-old kid was able to master all the elements and then challenge Zuko, that would mean that Zuko would have twelve years to conquer the world. And twelve years would also be enough, most likely, to kill the Water Tribe Avatar. Then once the Earth Kingdom Avatar is born, Zuko finds him and indoctrinates him from an early age.

_Walker of the Wheel: This world is older than we/they think, ne?_ Hmm... Yes and no. The most that even a very well-educated historian would know is that, while the nations seem to have existed since forever, the way they exist today came about around a thousand years ago. That was when the Fire Lord separated himself from the other Sages, when the Earth King started to lose control of some of his farther provinces, and so on. Before that? nobody knows, but most people who think about such things believe that people have been around for a _really_ long time. (though "really long time" is kind of relative)

In a nutshell, though, there's been a well-developed civilization of some sort or another for about seven thousand years, punctuated by Devastations every fifteen centuries. While these are world-ending scenarios, they're more world-ending in the "world as we know it" sense. Something really, REALLY big happens every fifteen centuries, completely altering the entire dynamic of the world. To give you a sense of the scale of these things, the genocide and extinction of the Air Nomads had less of an impact than the last Devastation (which could, actually, be described as The War and (something-Bender) genocide turned up to eleven. Plus some more stuff, equally as bad. Without giving anything away, there's a reason those eclipses occur in the first place, and when the first one occured, it was a lot worse than the "Day of Black Sun."*

*Yes, yes, eclipses should have been possible since the very first moment that the moon existed at the same time as the sun, but given that (1) the last eclipse (prior to the one in the series) was so long ago that apparently the Fire Nation was caught off guard until they learned about it again (you'd think that they'd have some countermeasures, otherwise) and (2) the physical moon is dependent upon the existence of the Moon Spirit, I think it's safe to assume that things like eclipses don't work quite like they do in our world.

_Points: _74 (26 till next clue)

60% of you think Zuko is behind the Red Roses. while 40% of you think that while it may look like he's helping them, he's just waiting for the best moment to stab them in the back. That is, he's ultimately on the side of the Loyalists.

One other thing, before we start: Did nobody catch that Guru Pathik was just revealed to be an Airbender in this story? And that he failed to mention this to Aang?

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Serpent's Pass**

_Water Year 1106_

_Serpent's Pass, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

There hadn't been time enough for Aang to outfit Appa in his armor, and bringing him into a battle in his current state would be no different than killing him here and now, so long before he reached Serpent's Pass, he leapt off of Appa, sending the Sky Bison home and using his glider for the rest of the way.

He reached the battle fifteen minutes later, and dove straight in, wasting no time. General Kenji was using his Slinky Tanks to keep fortified a core area in front of Serpent's Pass while, as far as Aang could see, there were four groups of Terra Team-trained Earthbenders, using their Bending to allow them to act as highly mobile artillery. It was a tactic that nearly every Earthbender group had used, and even the Army of the Red Rose was using it, but the Terra Teams were much more skilled in this. Their attacks were enough to take out an entire tank, and do it with precision, and so they did. But it wasn't enough.

Hordes of soldiers rammed against Kenji's army, a mass of more than ten thousand, outnumbering General Kenji only slightly, but it was the _proportion _which was important. As Aang descended, he saw what looked to be only a few hundred other Earthbenders who weren't dressed in Terra Team uniforms, horribly outnumbered by the vast numbers of Benders fighting under banners displaying a blood-red rose.

Hitting the ground hard, he smashed into the ground with a force that sent the ground rippling for hundreds of feet, knocking soldiers off their feet and overturning tanks. Though the Fire Nation tanks dealt with it easily enough, the Earth Kingdom models were left on the ground, unable to be lifted up except through the use of Bending. And that was being directed at Aang.

They'd have to hold out for as long as they could. General Ying, whose forces had been charged with the defense of Ba Sing Se and the surrounding area, had no doubt received word of what was happening here. But it was more than a week-long journey from Bas Sing Se, and while some of that time had no doubt been consumed in the time it took for Aang to get here, there were still several more days left. _Far _more than a week-long journey. It would still take nearly two days to cross Serpent's Pass. Perhaps less because that was based on a speed considerably lower than a full march, perhaps more because, though Serpent's Pass had been considerably widened by Earthbenders after The War, it was still quite thin, when you were trying to transport thousands of soldiers, tanks, and supplies.

Aang threw a blast of fire at a pair of swordsmen coming up from behind, and then stomped down on the ground with his left foot, sending a stone pillar straight into the sky, and a Fire Nation tank along with it. Aang would like to see it do anything from such three hundred feet in the air, but he had another plan— one that Kya would no doubt _highly _disapprove of. Closing his eyes and concentrating hard, ignoring the growing sensation of pain in his lower back, he began to move the pillar. It was slow, at first, but then the creaking and rumbling intensified, and three hundred feet of solid stone came crashing down, splitting the Roses' army in two toward the front, and taking out no small number of tanks and infantry. There were still nearly as many soldiers left as before, since few except the tanks hadn't been able to run away in time, but they could no longer fight as one unified whole.

A giant stone pillar falling on top of them didn't help the Roses keep their morale up, either.

Leaping into the air, he let off a series of rapid kicks, immolating a dozen soldiers before a twitch of his hand and a swing of his arm sent out a massive wave of air, concentrated so hard that it cut through a group of twenty soldiers before dissipating. Racing through the Roses, he tried to take out as many as he could, though he wasn't so foolish as to try another stunt like the stone pillar again. Nowhere close.

A few punches here, and Aang left a burning corpses, while a fierce wind knocked seven or eight soldiers into the path of their comrades' arrows.

But too little, too late. There was a time when the Avatar was a one-man army— when he was the rival of the Great Spirits, able to drain entire armies of the moisture in their bodies, or submerge an entire city with but a motion of his hand— but because of the intervention of mortals, that time has since passed. And Aang, especially, is much weaker than this, for the damage to his Chakra had greatly limited his abilities.

Jump and spin, send out a quick kick and burn him.

Never stop moving.

Aang rushed forward toward the front, wielding two fiery blades, and ran up a tank, launching himself off of it, spinning and crashing into a mêlée. He bounced back up immediately, impaling a Rose with his fire and then delivering a blast of flame to one behind him with a kick. A chopping motion with his hand sent a blade of air flying, killing another, but with every few steps he took, he was forced to take another step back if he wanted to remain between the two armies.

Inch by inch, they were losing, and that's not going to change even because Aang just smashed a hole through another tank that crossed by him.

---

Two hours had passed, and still the Roses fought on, pushing General Kenji and his men ever closer to the brink. Kenji himself was fighting on the front lines near the Avatar, knocking down Roses in a manner that seemed almost effortless, but Aang could see the glint of moisture on his face. Just a little bit— Kenji was concealing his exhaustion well— but he was starting to sweat. Which was surprising not because it was happening, but because it hadn't happened earlier. General Kenji was perhaps sixty years old, just a little more than a decade past his prime for an Earthbender, perhaps, but still vulnerable to fatigue just as much as Aang was.

Aang thrust his arms forward, unleashing a blast of flame which incinerated the Roses in front of him up to a dozen feet away, and then spun around and stomped on the ground, blocking the arrow coming at him with a stone pillar and launching it at his attacker with another kick.

"I don't know how much longer we're going to keep this up," Kenji said, as his wall was torn down by a Red Rose Earthbender.

"What are you saying?" Aang asked after a moment.

Kenji dodged a blow from a sword and shattered it with a piece of stone before knocking the man breathless— perhaps permanently— with a hit to the chest. "If you think you can manage it, I need—" Kenji raised his arms and then lowered them, encasing a man in stone before sending him below the surface "—you to disrupt the Roses, so that we can withdraw." A piece of stone half the size of Aang just plowed through two Roses, breaking their bones with an audible crack. "We've held the Roses off for as long as we could, and we're going to be a lot less of a help if we're all dead."

"Of course, General Kenji," Aang said, and he took off, knocking a Rose over and using his kneeling body as a jumping point, leaping off, stepping on a man's shoulder and then carrying himself up into the air with a heavy wind as he opened up his glider. Behind him, General Kenji rose a strange-looking stone pillar from the ground, setting off a chain reaction as every other Earthbender in sight did the same thing, and the process repeated. In only a few seconds it was over with, and they went back to fighting as before, but some of General Kenji's soldiers broke off from the fighting as they found the opportunity.

Releasing his hold on the glider, Aang let himself freefall, unleashing a firestorm as he came rushing down, only to be pushed forward by a wind right into his glider, sending out another blade of air in the same motion he used to grab onto the stick. A jackknife motion started him spinning, and fired off a blast of fire as some of the Roses started directing their attention to him.

An Earth Kingdom tank was consumed with fire from above, and he spun his staff to disperse the barrage of fire and arrows from below. A quick strike split a rock in two, and Aang let the winds carry him further up into the air. A thrust of his arm sent out the force of a hurricane, tearing holes into tanks and scattering soldiers for hundreds of feet.

He knew he shouldn't have done that, and just in case he was forgetting, the pain was coming back to remind him why. So before he stopped, there was one last thing to do. Gaining even further altitude, for he was going to need to really concentrate on this, and the whole thing would be somewhat messed up if he happened to hit the ground and die, he began turning around to face the water around Serpent's Pass.

Holding the glider with his feet, Aang let himself fall down to the earth, focusing entirely on the water, and as he slowly moved his arms back-and-forth, up-and-down, the ocean began to lift and fall, gaining greater height and force each time.

As the ground rose up to meet him and his back felt like it was splitting in two, the last thing Aang saw was a massive tidal wave ramming itself into Serpent's Pass, breaking up a considerable portion of it. The Roses could reconstruct Serpent's Pass, given a few days of constant work, perhaps a week, but that would be more than enough time for General Ying to bring his forces to the area.

Then, despite the winds he gathered under himself, the ground hit him, and Aang knew nothing else.

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

There a darkened room, within the bowels of the Royal Palace. There were many darkened rooms within it, of course, for not all were used (many had not been used for years, or decades) but this one was special. Here, there were four very special figures. Fire Lord Zuko, and How, standing to his left, and another Dai Li agent standing before them. And, sitting in a chair, was a Firebender. For weeks he had been fed only enough to keep him alive, and it had been literally coated with a powdery drug used to suppress his Bending. He was bone-thin, but that only added to the effectiveness of the procedure.

It was time to see if it was working this time.

How tapped the endlessly speaking Dai Li, who flipped a switch, and left wordlessly as the light died down and slowly stopped moving.

"Who are you?" asked the Fire Lord.

The Firebender only stared for a moment, and then he answered. "I am Chan. How may I serve the Fire Nation?"

It was answer that the Fire Lord would hear five more times, word for word, but though there would always be Zuko and How to hear the response, it was a different face each time which said it.

"Sleep," the Fire Lord told him, and the man did so. Instantly.

The Fire Lord turned to How. "Are you sure that you worked out the kinks this time? I heard that our first Chan-model killed himself for some reason."

"A minor programming error. We had never given a Joo Dee combat duties, and the rest of our re-education attempts were concerned with modifying portions of the subject's behavior, not all of it."

"Well, let's hope that we worked it out. I doubt that Aang would have been killed just by one Chan, but at least we would have known how he compares. An Avatar with a broken Chakra— and certainly possessing some sort of problem in the upstairs— versus a relentless killer with every last scrap of Firebending knowledge. Including the bits that Aang never learned." The Fire Lord shrugged, and turned towards the Chan one last time before he left with How. The door closed behind him, submerging the room into total darkness.

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Close to Serpent's Pass, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

Aang awoke gasping for air, and as soon as he had done so someone came rushing over to him. A Waterbender woman, she looked like. "Shut up and be quiet," she said as soon as she saw Aang's mouth begin to move. Apparently all healers were the same, or maybe they just acted this way with him. Or perhaps it was the whole culture. He hadn't noticed any behavior like this in either of the Poles, but maybe they just acted differently— No, never mind. He'd seen both on the battlefield. That couldn't be it.

"That was _very _stupid of you, if you don't mind me saying that, Avatar Aang. I don't know _what_ you were planning on doing by crashing into the ground, but I suggest you don't try it again."

"I blacked out," he managed to say, before she glared at him.

"No talking. Drink this," she said, and she handed him a cup. Aang drank it, though he wasn't quite able to identify what it was— a sort of bitter-and-sweet-all-at-once taste.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Most everybody managed to break away, and we're meeting up with others as we can. Now finish drinking."

He complied, but as he was about to ask another, his vision began to fade, and he was lost again.

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"In Agni's name," Zuko screamed, fire literally coming out of his mouth, "what were you _thinking!?_"

General Chung took a step back, bumping into one of the Fire Lord's odd-looking Earth Kingdom servants— why did he have servants from the Earth Kingdom anyway?— and realized, fearfully, that he wouldn't be able to run if things turned bad— if things turned _worse_, that is.

"I thought you _wanted_ Maniyok destroyed," Chung mumbled.

"I wanted the city to be _conquered_, you idiot! The explosives were for the ashen _ships_, Chung. The plans were so that you could take the city _without_ it collapsing. Not so that you could do a better job than they would." Zuko reached down, grabbed a handful of Pai Sho tiles from the South Pole, and threw them, flaming, at Chung. "I'm trying to _unite _the world, not burn it to the ground!"

"I'm sorry. I'll never do anything like that again, Fire Lord." Chung kept his head low, not looking up at all, hoping that the Fire Lord would spare him. If he could just get out of the Royal Palace, then that man Yi Ming could keep him safe. He'd _promised_ him protection, if only he did what they asked.

Chung just hadn't ever thought about whether he'd survive the Fire Lord right here. How could he have been so _stupid_? Even Yi Ming said he didn't want to come here.

"Get out of here," Zuko said, and Chung looked up, unwilling to believe his ears.

"I am sorry, Fire Lord. I did not hear—"

"_Get out!_" and a flaming Pai Sho piece struck Chung on the cheek, burning him. "_Now!_"

As Chung ran out, unknowingly tailed by one of Zuko's green-eyed servants, the Fire Lord raged, firing a steady steam of fire onto the floor for several minutes. Though the map had been painted onto metal, by the time his anger had cooled, what was once the South Pole was now nothing more than a massive, half-melted scorch mark, rippling as it cooled.

"This would be so much simpler if I could just have him replaced…" Zuko muttered, and looked up when he heard How's response.

Of course.

How could he have not thought of it earlier?

The Fire Lord began to laugh, as all his troubles began, once again, to slip away. Hopefully he'd be able to solve this without making another set of problems.

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Close to Serpent's Pass, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

In the camp that night, Aang learned how the situation had changed since he'd been put "on leave."

"The attacks on the Fire Nation have…" The Earthbender shrugged, and then winced in pain from a wound he'd received the day before. It hadn't been treated right, but they couldn't really do anything about it till they reached a city, or at least a largish town, but patch it up. "It's hard to tell. It's like they've increased and decreased all at once. They hit a lot more, but they hit softer, and retreat faster. It's like they've picked up on the tactics of your Raiders, only they're putting them in action a lot more incompetently."

"What about the rest of the war?" Aang asked. "How are the Northern Tribe greatfleets doing?"

The other man swallowed hard, and looked out the corner of his eye for a minute before he continued. "Not… not well. I-I'm sorry, Avatar Aang."

Aang was confused. "What for?"

He swallowed again. "Have you heard that the _Red Gale _had been recalled, along with a few other ships, to defend Maniyok?"

Aang shook his head. "That's news to me. Would have been nice to say goodbye to Katara before she— What?" he suddenly asked, when the man's face became overcome with regret.

"The _Red Gale_ was destroyed."

Aang didn't say anything, and for several minutes there was only the crackling of the fire, and voices from other people, faint and distant, to break silence. "What happened?"

"A torn-up Earth Kingdom warship had appeared in the harbor, and its captain had been taken in and questioned. He said that the Roses had developed some sort of new weapon—"

"More like 'Managed to steal it from the Fire Nation,' I'd think," Aang interrupted.

"Please, let me finish. It's not quite what it seems so far."

"Alright."

"The captain told them that the Roses had a new weapon, and many more ships than anybody had thought. They ambushed Poi's army and fleet, and the greatfleet stationed along those islands, and destroyed them utterly. I hope you'll take no offense when I say that he compared it to the genocide of your people, Avatar Aang."

"None at all. I trust that he was not using it merely in jest, or exaggeration?"

"Not quite…" responded the soldier. "But they told the captains of the ships that as they fled— they were retreating southwards, for the attack had come from the north— they encountered, and barely broke past, another group of Red Rose ships, headed for Maniyok, exactly where they were retreating to. The captains were convinced by the survivors who reached Maniyok to immediately deploy, so as to meet this threat head-on. Otherwise, they would not stand the smallest of chances against it."

"Were they able to make it out in time?"

"They probably thought so, though I don't know how long it took for them to move out. And each ship took several of the survivors with them, so that as much as possible could be explained during the process. But all of it was a lie."

"Excuse me?"

"The survivors were Roses, Avatar Aang."

"But surely, a handful of people on each ship couldn't do anything, right?"

"They had somehow gotten explosives onto the ships. As soon as they were far enough out to shore, the bombs were triggered, and every ship sank. There was an almost one-hundred percent fatality rate."

"Almost?" Aang asked. "So some are still alive? My wife might have survived?" he pressed.

"It's… _possible_, but unlikely. I don't know for sure, though, since I didn't hear any of the names. But something else had happened, Avatar Aang."

"What?" he asked, hoping that it would merely be a small footnote to the whole affair. Something like "A lot more would have survived, but they were attacked by tiger-sharks as they made their way back to Maniyok on the lifeboats."

"Maniyok is…" The man struggled to find the words. "Maniyok is... it's just... _gone_."

"How did that happen?" Aang asked, though he already thinks he knows how.

"The people who survived _that_ say that there were several explosions, and then some of the buildings began collapsing, and toppling into other ones. Pretty much the whole city came down in a chain reaction, like if you set up a whole bunch of Pai Sho tiles on their sides, all right next to each other, and then you knocked one over."

How did they know? That was the question Aang wanted to ask, but he doubted that the soldier would know. But Aang couldn't figure out how they had gotten the plans that Katara and the other architects had written up. Perhaps one of them had gotten kidnapped, but why would that happen in the first place? Nobody should have even known that there was a weakness in the plans to exploit in the first place.

"They say that the Southern Water Tribe is pulling out of the war," the soldier continued. "They've already taken their ships out from either side of Serpent's Pass."

"I'd noticed."

"And soon enough, Full Moon Bay will be emptied as well. They say that they can't defend Ba Sing Se _and_ their own people, and in the end, this is just an internal struggle."

"Which is why Maniyok is in ruins, of course."

"It doesn't make any sense to me, either, but they took a heavy blow. Some of their best ships, including _the _best ship, just got sent to the bottom of the ocean, and I haven't got the faintest clue as to how many people died in Maniyok. The greatfleets might be taken out, too, though."

"You can't be serious."

"That's what I heard. The Northern Water Tribe doesn't like what it saw happen, and who can say that Sinaliarpok won't be a pile of icy rubble this time next year?"

"We have to win this soon."

---

"She survived," Aang said after awhile. "If anybody would have survived, it would have been her. The ships sunk, but they sunk into _water_ right?"

The soldier nodded. "I suppose so. You and her have gotten into some scrapes before, when you were fighting the Fire Nation, right?"

"And most of them were a lot worse than being on a ship which was sinking into something she could just turn into ice and step onto. The worse part of the whole thing would have been the tiger-sharks."

"Well… one of the life-boats _did_ get attacked, and overturned, from what I hear."

"But once again," Aang said, actually chuckling now, "how bad could it get, when she was in the middle of the _ocean_? It's a whole bunch of water."

The soldier nodded, and got stood back up. "I hope you don't mind if I go get some sleep, Avatar Aang. From what I've heard, the last orders we got from the General before the break-up was that we were to hit them early in the morning, and try and take out a few more."

"That's rather suicidal," Aang grinned.

"We're supposed to retreat before we get hurt too bad. We're just doing it so that we can bleed them just a little bit more."

"Hey, that's what worked with my Raiders. Cut them and bleed them a thousand times, until they collapse from exhaustion." Or find out where you're staying that night and overwhelm you with their armies, he added silently.

---

_Water Year 1106_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"So what story would you like to hear tonight?" Zuko asked his children. He hoped that the answer would come peacefully this time. Azariya would typically speak up first, usually asking to hear about some battle or another, which was fine with Iroh, so long as it was about one of _Uncle Iroh's_ battles, but Ursa was more interested in the folktales, especially the Water Tribe ones that Katara and Sokka had passed on. She very much liked the story about the moon. And one of the twins— most often Fudo, but occasionally his sister Hiashi— when they weren't running off, would go along with whatever Ursa said (or Azariya, in Hiashi's case), and so the other one would suggest something as different as possible, just to be contrary.

It was Fudo who spoke up first, though, and _Agni_, would that cause trouble, because then— "Dad? Are you listening?"

"I'm sorry. I just got a bit lost in my thoughts. What story do you want to hear, then?"

"Can you tell one about Avatar Aang?" he asked.

Zuko blinked in surprise, and then found himself even more astonished when Hiashi was about to open her mouth to suggest something different, but then said nothing. "Alright. But it's just plain _Aang_, Fudo. He doesn't like it when people call him Avatar Aang. He prefers that people talk to him like he was their friend." Zuko leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. "Now, let's see… Ah, I've got one," he said as Ursa climbed into his lap, and the others all sat close to him (except for Iroh, who was holding tight onto his stuffed pig-cow).

"Have I ever told you about the time that Aang, Katara, and Sokka first went to Omashu and met King Bumi?"

"Is he the weird man that Mommy talks about?" Ursa asked.

This was the way things were, as the sun went down, and Zuko was able to steal a few moments of peace away from the war. Just him, and his children, in a sanctuary made of stories and legends (and stuffed pig-cows).


	9. Skipping Stones

**A/N **Oh, oh... I'm am so effing sorry about missing the update. It's actually FF's fault, since it wouldn't let me log in, but regardless, as a way of trying to make up for it, I've posted a teaser for _All the Myriad Faces_. Those of you who have put me on Author Alert know that already, but a lot of you haven't. It's in the list of stories I've written (which is now exactly one, plus a sneak peak).

**A/N **Whoops! Forgot to put Katara's name on the casualty list last week. Sorry about that! Aheheh... Well, okay, I didn't _forget_, but my Beta advised me to not put her name in. From now on, however, you can trust the casualty list one-hundred percent.

_The Casualty List: _General Shinu, The Rough Rhinos, Sokka, Captain Yung, General How. The Twins, Master Piandao, Fat, Fire Sage Shyu. Hakoda, Yugoda, Bujing, Hama. Katara,

_Katara_ was caught in an explosion on her ship. If the blast wasn't enough to kill her, it at least knocked her out, meaning that she would have died when the _Red Gale_ sank. You're free to speculate on this, though it's even more irrelevant than the one-sided Aang/somebody ships (but it'll still get you a point, I suppose, if you're the sort to wonder how she died, exactly).

* * *

_Review Replies:_

_Shadow Wasserson: I really think this story needs more transition, not just for Aang, but for Zuko as well... Right now I can barely recognize the characters I love, and I want to know why and how they changed. _Hmm... I'll try to write up some oneshots later on, although that won't be for a long time... There's going to be another major time skip later on, but hopefully that one won't have as many changes, and the ones that do will be explained well enough. :looks thoughtful: At the very least, while I can't go back and change things for THIS story, I'll try to keep this in mind for my next story,_ All the Myriad Faces: Nini's Book_, which will follow Aang's successor.

_I liked the little scene at the end. It shows that at least your Zuko still has a heart..._ I'm interested to know if that last scene has screwed up anybody's perception of Zuko, actually.

_Clockwork Chaos:_ _"Red Roses, who only want to be left alone and govern themselves" This statement doesn't seem to square with their actions. People who "only want to be left alone" shouldn't be out attacking Southern Water Tribe cities and Ba Sing Se. _Well, it might be good to keep in mind that this is mainly what the common Red Rose thinks, and that they also have their own ideas of how to fight this war. If they just push the Loyalists back to the original borders, who is to say that Kuei won't simply regroup and strike later? Your average Red Rose, if asked, will explain that they need to march to Ba Sing Se and show Kuei, and everyone else, that if they get attacked again, they have more than enough power to win that fight, just like they won this one. The Red Roses have been told that they need to defeat Ba Sing Se because if they do so, they haven't just won this fight, but every fight after it, because they've shown that they didn't just get lucky this time. And they're attacking Maniyok because Maniyok is fighting them as well, and when the only options are freedom, with success, and being ruled by Kuei, if they fail, they can't afford to pull any punches.

At least, that's what your average Red Rose thinks. Based on what we can glean from the encounter between Fire Lord Zuko and General Chung, the leaders of the Red Roses are merely using their subordinates' fear of oppression to make their own bid for total dominion over the Earth Kingdom.

_Alyx the Dark Wanderer: ...if [Katara] was alive wouldn't Aang be able to tell by using the 'power' he used to find Appa in the swamp or does he need his Avatar state for that?_ That would indeed be something he would need the Avatar State for. As a general rule of thumb, anything not involving Bending is something he needs the Avatar State for. Or, to put it another way, he needs to be ABLE to enter the Avatar State, even if he doesn't need to use it. Because of the damage to his chakra, he's unable to fully connect with the Avatar Spirit, or much of anything else beyond Bending, and even really high-end Bending is beyond him if he doesn't want to nearly kill himself from the exertion. Aang is unable to enter the Avatar State, communicate with his past lives, enter the Spirit World,* and so on.

*To be technical, Aang can still enter the Spirit World, but only by using the same methods as everybody else.

_And were some of Zuko's children born after Sokka died?_ I'd have to check again, but I don't believe so. Remember, there's several years between the "present" and when we last see Zuko's kids before the time skip, and even at that point, Mai was pregnant again.

_And the Dai Li used their hypnotizing to create the ultimate firebender? _Hmm... While this might be their goal in the long-term, Zuko is currently just trying to create something which could kill Aang or otherwise remove him from the "game." The fact that this involves creating an "ultimate Firebender" is merely incidental. If creating the "most pathetic Firebender" would kill Aang by making him laugh himself to death, Fire Lord Zuko would go with that route. Either way, though, they've had some problems. Their first attempt at the "Chan-model" basically killed himself (If you'll remember, Chan from "Rest, and Start Again" was, unsurprisingly enough, a Chan-model). They're still having problems, in fact, because they're not just having to completely rewrite a subject's memory and mind, but put in a whole lot of knowledge, figure out how to alter the muscle memory, and so on.* It's like going from ENIAC to Windows XP. Yeah, they're both computers, but one is horribly more complex than the other, and so the Dai Li are bound to trash a Windows XP or twelve in the process of trying to reprogram it. Am I making any sense, or just making the whole thing even more confusing?

*In fact, the new-and-improved Chan-models are going to be making an appearance in this chapter, so I suppose you'll see how far the Dai Li have come in fixing their problem.

_Who would want to break into Hama's cell?_ Who indeed...? In the next chapter, you'll get a pretty big clue, but even then, the obvious conclusion might not be the right one. Is the break-in related to Piandao's death and / or Sage Shyu's death? Was there actually a break-in in the first place, or was this the story Zuko told everybody so they wouldn't figure out why he REALLY executed her? Or was this actually the story ZUKO got fed, because his subordinates didn't want to tell him why they were executing her? Or perhaps she wasn't getting executed in the first place. Perhaps she really did break out. If there was an attempted break-in, that would explain the damage, and if she were executed, that would explain why there's only a bunch of ashes to show to the Fire Lord.

Considering that straight-out execution has been getting replaced with Spiritbending, when it comes to those capable of Bending, you certainly do have to wonder why she was getting executed in the first place.

_Ogro: In the casualty list, who are The Twins?_ Poi and Ping, who are killed in "Mopping Up the Opposition" and first appeared in "The Fortuneteller."

_Points: _90 (10 till next clue)

66% of you think that Zuko is ultimately good, but for some reason thinks that the war is going to do more harm than good. 16% of you think that he's firmly on the side of the Loyalists, and doesn't think the war is beneficial at all. The remaining 16% of you think that, at best, he's out for his family and (maybe) the rest of the Fire Nation. Anybody else gets screwed over... that's not his problem.

Waitaminute... 66, 16, 16... Where's the last 1%? This done not come out correctly!

_

* * *

_**Chapter Eight: Skipping Stones **

_Water Year 1107_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"There's something bothering you," Mai said softly.

"Really?" Zuko said, toneless. "I couldn't tell, personally."

"Stop being sarcastic, and sit down. What's your problem?"

Zuko hesitated, and then sat down on the floor next to Mai. He couldn't quite remember when they'd started doing this, but it seemed that they never used chairs anymore when talking to each other. "I'm becoming Ozai."

"How so, Zuko?" his wife asked. "To tell the truth, there _have _been things which have troubled me, but I don't see you as anything like your— like Ozai. Perhaps closer to your grandfather Azulon."

"And how is _that _any better?" Zuko asked.

"You seem to forget that _he _cared about his family. He was about ready to kill Ozai when the man had the audacity to take advantage of your uncle's loss."

"And instead he decided to have _me_ killed. Wonderful family man."

Mai frowned, and stared into Zuko's eyes. "I thought Aang had said that you were supposed to be adopted by your uncle, not _killed_. To me, that's actually quite fair, quite decent. Sure, it's not like you can exactly say 'Here's your beloved nephew, now forget about your dead son!' but it was as close as Azulon could come to fixing things, and you _were_ his greatly beloved nephew." Mai shrugged. "And I doubt that Azulon exactly missed the way Ozai treated you."

"Aang said that because _Azula_ told him that, and we all know how much of the truth she _ever_ told."

"True, true, but there's no reason for her to have been lying. And—" Zuko opened his mouth to respond, but Mai placed a finger across it. "_And_, you forget that I had the— well, not _pleasure_, since it sure wasn't all that fun, but… the not-all-that-bad experience of meeting your grandfather. And he was decent."

Zuko smirked. "Ah, so that's the best we can come up with… 'Azulon: the Decent Fire Lord.'"

"Hey, 'decent' is pretty good, in my book. But Azulon wasn't the worst Fire Lord in history, dear. Take a look at Sozin, okay? He's the one who _started _The War. Enough said, so let's move on to Ozai. He would have burnt down the whole world had he had half a chance. Right?"

"Right."

"But Azulon… It's true that he _did_ continue The War, but he did a lot more than just that. The Gates are just _one_ of the many building projects he initiated. If it weren't for him, the Fire Nation would be a lot more run-down than it is right now. He even began work on the railways in the Colonies."

"But those were never finished," Zuko pointed out.

"Well, you can't exactly blame him for _dying_ can you?"

"Yes I can."

"But that's going to stubborn, obstinate route, now isn't it?"

"Yes it is," Zuko admitted.

"Azulon did a lot of good. He restored the greatness and the stability we'd lost because Sozin was so obsessed with The War, and he did it so well that not even Ozai, who was even _more_ obsessed, could destroy the work he'd done. If it hadn't been for your uncle's dream about Ba Sing Se, I doubt he would have even initiated that battle. And there's something else you aren't considering."

"What's that?"

"If he were _anything_ like your— like _Ozai_, then why would he have allowed Iroh to succeed him at all? Ozai wouldn't have had to lift a finger to become Fire Lord. I'd say that he turned out pretty well, actually, given that Sozin was his father. You're worrying over _nothing_, Zuko."

"I'm becoming more… resolved. More willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary."

"Is it worth it?"

"Is what worth it?"

"Your goal? You said that you're willing to do anything necessary, but is it for a worthy cause?"

Zuko thought about it for a moment. "I suppose so."

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Mai said, and she leaned over, placing her head on Zuko's shoulder. "Remember, you've got me. I'll keep you in check, don't you worry."

And how did she propose to do that? Ozai had certainly never been restrained by _his_ wife.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_The Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

Another sleepless night in the Sanctuary. There was something he was overlooking with these masks. The abstract. The owl. The scholar-official.

The owl he kept on placing as Wan Shi Tong, but he had a feeling that was wrong. Still, what did they represent? Or did they represent anything at all? And why was he never told about these masks? They were in the Sanctuary, after all. Didn't that mean that they were in some way tied to him? And why was the abstract in all four Temples, but the other two were always different?

So many questions.

"Oh, how could I ever forget you?" Aang whispered, and he wondered why he said it almost as soon as the words had left his mouth. He couldn't quite place where he'd heard it, but it was so _familiar_. Like there was a connection between the phrase, and these masks. "Face-cults," he whispered again. He almost felt as if he were connected to his past lives again. As if they were trying to tell him something but, being unable to contact him normally, were using his mouth as their own, and giving him thoughts which were not his own.

"Were these the spirits venerated by the Air Nomads?"

There was the abstract, which was common to all four. Some sort of representation of Tian? He'd never seen such a form before, but he could certainly see how one might decide upon it. If mere winds could not be depicted, perhaps something more, well, _abstract_, yet still suitable for a mask. It was plausible enough that it might be symbolic of the clouds, in its own way. You could always see things in clouds, but never any real detail. Just like the abstract face. And it seemed vaguely familiar, somehow.

The owl… He considered Wan Shi Tong again, but couldn't just let it go at that. Wisdom, certainly. It had to do with wisdom, knowledge, learning… that sort of thing. But it looked completely unlike Wan Shi Tong. The colors were wrong, the facial structure was wrong, and for some reason Aang didn't get the feeling that this was the face of someone who could be titled "He Who Knows 10,000 Things." It looked more like someone who was completely and totally obsessed with _one_ thing. Ever-waiting, ever-watchful. It could, Aang reasoned, be a _servant _of Wan Shi Tong. The spirit had those knowledge seeker fox things, maybe he had owls, too. Was it entirely out of the realm of possibility that there were… Oh, he didn't know… knowledge _keepers_ or something? The owl had something to do with a very specific focus of knowledge, of _that_ Aang was certain.

He was sure that the third mask was a depiction of a scholar-official, meaning that it was related to the Earth Kingdom. The Northern Air Temple was indeed in Earth Kingdom territory, so that could be why it was a scholar-official which was used. The general concept of a scholarly figure (and who could be more scholarly than a scholar-official?) becomes adapted to fit the local consciousness, which in this case is, well, a _scholar-official_, as stated innumerable times already. Why _can't_ a Temple's inhabitants be affected ever-so-slightly by the locals?

And it would fit, too, if only he could resolve these ideas with the masks of the other Temples. He doesn't see how a— what did it matter, anyway?

Aang sets the masks back in the safe and closes it irritably. This will not help him find the Air Nomads, and he stills needs to finds more.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Boiling Rock, The Fire Nation_

"How goes the research in face-sculpting?" asked the Fire Lord as he followed How down the halls. There were two of the prison's guards escorting them, of course, but over the years Zuko had learned to be able to ignore them. They were there when he needed them, and since every last one here had been handpicked by himself, he trusted that he could talk at least _somewhat _freely.

"We're having some problems," the Dai Li answered. "Severe wounds. It would be better if we had a Waterbender healer—"

"Request denied," Zuko said immediately, and How smiled.

"I know. I was just pointing it out."

"So there's no way to heal the patient?"

"No," How said. "Remember, we're cutting a man's face and carving it so that it looks like somebody else's. That sort of thing doesn't really come without scarring."

"But you said that you'd be able to deal with most of it."

"Yes. _Most_ of it. But I'm afraid that this is a matter of proportion, Fire Lord. _Most _of a population can be watched, but if you have three-and-a-half million people who need watching, that's still a lot of people who aren't being watched."

"That's a rather odd way of putting it," Zuko replied. "So what alternatives are there, How?"

"Well, we could definitely use this operation to replace people who have suffered sufficient burns. Worse burns than what you've got right now, to be exact."

"Rather… _limited_ in that way, isn't it?"

"Better than nothing, right?"

"I suppose. I suppose."

"We're just a moment away from the last patient to undergo the procedure, and we'll be able to take a look at him."

"Oh, good. Do you think that you'll be able to squeeze any other use from him, How?"

"Not as far as the face-sculpting goes."

"Then I'd like for you to switch him over to the re-education facility in Chung-ling. I'd like to see how many times it can be applied before he breaks."

"With all due respect, Fire Lord, I don't think he knows where your mother is."

"Oh, I know that," Zuko said, smiling as they reached their destination. It was a dank, cramped cell, right next to the Coolers, where some of the cold air would sometimes escape. He wondered idly how much of the prisoner's time was spent chattering and shivering, and how much time the prisoner could actually spend sleeping. "He just wanted to give me a false hope, so that he might crush it later on." Zuko leaned over, and tapped one of the bars, making a low clink which resonated through the halls. "Hello there. How are you doing? Would you like me to end this? I can, you know."

The man inside had obviously been quite well-built, once upon a time. Since being placed in the Boiling Rock, however, he had wasted away, and his flesh was hanging from his bones. Zuko made sure that the Warden gave him just enough of the Bending suppressant— which he didn't need— to provide a degree of the negative side effects, while still letting him retain more or less full use of his mind. This was of no point at all if he couldn't suffer.

He looked up at the Fire Lord, and spat.

"I know you want this to end."

The prisoner continued to stare at Zuko. Parts of his face had just a paper's width of flesh along the skull, so much cutting and skinning and molding had been done, while all his hair had been removed, and scars from both burns and the operations. And if the Fire Lord moved just in the right way, so that the light reflected _just_ so, he could almost pretend that half of the prisoner's face had been completely removed of skin, right down to the skull.

"All you have to do is tell me how you killed my mother, and all this will end."

Ozai did not answer, and the next day two Dai Li came for him, and brought him to Chung-ling.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Garsai, The Earth Kingdom (Red Rose territory)_

Aang had tried so _very _hard to keep himself low-key while in this town. He didn't have the greatest reputation anymore. Among the "greencap" loyalists, yes, but he wasn't _in _loyalist territory right now. Garsai was ruled by the Army of the Red Rose, and had actually lent its support to the Roses from early on in the war. They wouldn't much appreciate realizing that the strange young man in their midst was actually the Butcher of Te Kuan (Aang rather thought they were exaggerating the whole incident, but he doubted that they'd take _his_ word for it).

He'd come to Garsai tracking rumors of a wandering group of people— between twelve and twenty-one, depending on which of the many stories you listened to, but many of the "extras" were young children, so it hadn't been implausible to assume that the differences were due to some villages not catching everyone, while others didn't count the children, or didn't see all of them. The stories described them as having a few peculiar mannerisms, and when he'd heard what one of them said ("Open are the doors to the Deathless") he immediately recognized it as something Gyatso had told him.

Aang _knew_ he would finally find the Air Nomads here.

A few hours later, Aang was walking out of Garsai, wishing that those monks had never existed. They were just another band of poor fools who somehow believed that they were honoring the Air Nomads by mocking them with every movement, and pretending that they were actually, _somehow_, living like the Air Nomads. He didn't understand how they didn't realize that even if they acted just like the Air Nomads, ate just like the Air Nomads, said _exactly _what an Air Nomad would say in whatever situation they happened to be in, they were _not_ who they were pretending to be.

Unfortunately, as he discovered about two minutes before getting past the wall, he had not been nearly so inconspicuous as he'd thought.

Ten men in Red Rose uniforms raced toward him, striking just as he'd noticed them. Leaping up and sending as powerful a wind as he could, he dispersed most of the flames he didn't just avoid, but quite a bit still got through a burned him. Aang twisted his hand, slamming a piece of rock into the head of one of his attackers as he came down. The ground rippled with the impact, and he used that to his advantage, Bending the earth not so that it would move, but so that it would keep moving. It was easier to continue— and magnify— a process than to initiate it through Bending.

Some of the men stumbled, but even they managed to regain their footing as they ran toward him, relentless in their assault. Three of his attackers launched themselves into the air, raining fire down upon him from above, and he went this way and that, deflecting their attacks with the wind from his staff before one of the men on the ground took aim and sent Aang slamming into a building with a blast of fire.

Brushing himself off as he got back up, Aang closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself simply become _aware_ of his attackers, and three breaths later he twisted out of the way of an attack and returned fire, leapt backwards, and grabbed hold of one of the others, grappling with the man as he channeled fire through his body, setting him aflame and jumping up and out of the way just as another stream of fire came his way and blasted through a building.

Motioning with his hands as if pulling in a rope, Aang slowly walked backwards, and only a few seconds later another of his attackers fell to the ground, trying desperately to breathe. A blast of fire came from behind, and Aang fell backwards, bouncing back up as he landed on a cushion of air before raising up a block of stone and sending it crashing into the chest of the Firebender who'd sent the blast at him.

Massive waves of blue flame came rushing toward him, and he was forced back a few inches as they crashed into his own red wall. He swung around and kicked out, sending a flare at the closest of his attackers, but the man just leapt above it before rushing toward him, propelled toward Aang by his flames.

Bursting through the wall of flame Aang was holding up, the man was a mass of burning flesh, but he seemed to pay no attention of this, instead immediately engaging in combat, forcing him to release control of flame, which he pushed forward toward the others before ducking away from kick coming at him. Plumes of blue flame were matched against red as Aang was forced to act on the defensive, being capable of nothing but avoiding the other's attacks.

A moment later, Aang found an opening, and pushed himself forward with a burst of flame before compressing a fistful of air he'd grabbed hold of and ramming it upward through the man's chest. He turned toward the others and before he even heard the crack in the air, his arm moved, seemingly of its own accord, to take the lightning.

It surged through him, rushing into his body, filling it with a power unlike anything he'd experienced except in the Avatar State. And yet… it felt so familiar. Closing his eyes, Aang let himself drift away and the lightning's power coursed through him, gathering and collecting together. And then his eyes snapped open, and he let go.

The lightning surged across, jumping from one attacker to the other and on and on and back to Aang and back to them again, trying to get a hold on something as each of them managed to channel it and throw it off, until one of the Firebenders was caught from behind and fell to the ground with a black mark on his back.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Fire Lord Zuko," the royal physician said when he entered the room, and he bowed deeply.

"How is he doing?" Zuko asked. He was referring to Iroh, currently lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and not quite as robust-looking as he had been a few months ago.

"Not well," the physician replied. "Your uncle is suffering from a particularly malignant form of _akusei_."

Zuko found it ironic. The word meant, literally, "malignancy," and generally only referred to a very lethal type of disease. That it was even _more_ virulent and life-threatening than usual… Now that he was thinking about all the details, instead of just the pun inherent in the name, it didn't seem so ironic or funny…

"Is there anything we can do to help him?"

"You can make him more comfortable," came the reply. "And there _are _a few treatments I could try, but before you make a decision, I'd like for you to think about it, and get your uncle's opinion on it as well. It will take a little time to get everything together to treat this, and while I will send for the supplies necessary right away, and will go and retrieve some of it personally, it will still not come this very minute. So you may as well use the time available to you and decide if you really want to go through with it."

"What about a Waterbender healer?" Zuko asked.

"We've tried, Fire Lord. You wrote out the request personally."

He blinked, and tried to hide his confusion. Zuko certainly didn't remember that, but everything was falling apart lately, and he was being forced to run around like mad to try and hold the Fire Nation and the Order together. "What will these other operations involve?"

"The first thing I'm going to try will be the most likely to work out of all of them, and will involve, quite simply, cutting him open and removing the malignancies."

"I'm guessing that's extremely dangerous?"

"Extremely would be an understatement. Your uncle is very old, Fire Lord, and we tend to burn out fast— Firebenders like yourselves especially. And Firebenders like him— prodigies— are like a candle which has been lit at both ends, you know. The other Benders gain greater vitality with greater power, while our own pay for their strength with even further shortened life spans. While in the prime of his life he would have been able to beat this without much of an effort, and be walking around after the surgery in just a week or two, right now there's a very good chance that he could just die, even if everything is done perfectly."

"Can't you just amputate the leg?"

The physician sighed. "It's not like that. I had hoped that it would be located in the leg, but the _akusei_ is in the stomach; the limp is merely a symptom. Still, there are worse things which he'll be experiencing, and until he undergoes the first operation, I'm going to be prescribing him a diet of particular drugs I want him to take." The physician closed his eyes, and swallowed. "Even _with_ the drugs, don't be surprised if he's barely able to get out of bed, and experiences intense bouts of nausea and vomiting."

"How likely is it that he will survive?"

"Not very. I'm sorry, Fire Lord Zuko."

"It's not your fault."

In a moment, he'd go and order How to figure out a way to test the operations the physician was advocating on other patients. The Boiling Rock was full of the sickly, and while few had _akusei­_— for such a contagious disease, it certainly didn't spread very quickly or easily— the principle of cutting open people prone to die under the knife would certainly help. It certainly couldn't hurt, and those in the Boiling Rock were in it for the long haul. Lifers, even after their Bending had been taken away. Nobody would miss a few missing patients, or even a lot, if that's what it took for him to save his uncle.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Garsai, The Earth Kingdom (Red Rose territory)_

He couldn't afford to think about the collateral damage right now. He was alive, so he took that as a sign that the lightning hadn't passed through his heart, but every inch of him was screaming in agony. Aang took a step back as he took another blast of blue flame, and then launched himself into the air, pushing himself this way and that with gusts of air and bursts of fire as he dodged attacks from the ground and the earth below him erupted into a rolling mass of flame and stone.

One of the blasts connected, and Aang was knocked out of the air, landing on the roof of one of the buildings. He let himself slide down, deflecting a blast of flame with a kick of his legs and then leaned forward as he fell off the roof, colliding into the ground as it grew soft and swallowed him up.

Keep calm, keep moving, keep moving. Stopping gets you killed. But a little pause can't hurt, not when they can't get him here.

Seconds later, Aang launched himself out of his sanctuary within the earth, bringing with him pillars rising up and smashing into walls, carts, and the Roses themselves. Running toward two of the Firebenders, he dragged his fingers lightly against the ground, then pulled them up just as he reached his targets, forming a pair of stone knives which he drove into his attackers before propelling himself backward with a blast of red fire.

Shades of blue flashed across his vision, burning him— shocking him— as he twisted this way and that. His attackers had shifted almost unnoticeably, and Aang wasn't exactly sure how they'd changed. Machinelike, they advanced toward him, firing blast after blast, interspersing their flames with lightning, but it was blue all the same.

Aang let himself forget about the rest of the world, concentrating totally on his attackers. He fell into automatic movements, reacting to each attack as it came, turning it against the two Firebenders. Blasts of fire came toward him and a twirl of his staff blew them apart, breaking them, and he rushed forward again, snapping back as the lightning surged through his body again and he redirected it somewhere else— maybe at the Firebenders, maybe into the ground, or somewhere else— he couldn't really tell, wasn't paying attention.

Somewhere deep in his mind he understood how much damage he was suffering (for even redirecting lightning will still harm, to an extent, and he was doing it dozens of times a minute) but he ignored it. It was inconsequential. He flipped his hand over and thrust it forward, tearing the stone supports of another building and hurling them towards the Firebenders. He didn't take any notice of the cracking sounds, to determine if it had hurt them, if it had even made contact. It was inconsequential. They were still moving, still attacking.

Move forward, onward, onward, never stop moving.

Someone laughed, but he didn't hear it, didn't notice that they weren't the ones laughing. He swirled around, unleashing a wave of flames, blasting through walls and setting everything within twenty feet on fire. The Firebenders may have been burnt— was that a stagger?— but they were still moving. Streams of fire came from both directions, pushing against each other, but the Firebenders had the advantage, had twice the men, and they were still going. Still going. If Aang had thought about it, paid attention to what had happened to them, he'd have noticed that they should have been on the ground by now.

But they were still moving. The "why" was inconsequential, wasn't even questioned.

Aang leapt up into the air, letting the flames roar past below, only subconsciously noting the explosion happening much further behind him as they made contact with something else. Racing forward, he grabbed hold of one of the Firebenders, slamming him through the building of a wall and moving out of the way of a blast from the other, not really caring if he'd managed to get rid of his target yet. If he hadn't, he'd deal with him in a minute.

Another burst of flame raced toward him, and he let this one make contact with him, broke it and took it in, letting it envelop him. Then, appearing as if he was being consumed by a great blue fire, he advanced slowly— slowly, for it took effort to keep the flames controlled— and closed his eyes, letting further flames blast into him and wrapping them around his body. The attacks finally ceased, and he felt the Firebender's footsteps as he cautiously circled Aang. His heartbeat was still just as calm as it had been before he had attacked.

"Who is your superior?" Aang asked.

"This information is classified."

"Who are you?"

"This information is classified."

"Are you just going to die yet, or are you going to make me do it for you?"

Fire crackled, but Aang realized that it wasn't coming from the Firebender. It was all around him, but it wasn't from his attacker.

"My orders are to kill you, Avatar Aang. I will not cease until my orders have been completed."

"Then why aren't you doing anything right now?"

"My attacks have been unsuccessful. It would be a wasteful expenditure of energy to continue them until I find an opening."

"Who is your superior?"

"This information is classified," the Firebender said again, but there was a quick change in his heartbeat, barely detectable.

"Who is your superior?"

"This information is classified." There it was again. A momentary quickening, but it had lasted just a second longer this time.

"Who is your superior?"

"This information is classified."

"Who is your superior?"

"Th—this information is classified."

"So what's wrong with you? Your heartbeat is going like mad."

"This information is— is— is— Something is wrong."

"So what's with the stuttering? Did you get hit too hard in the head?"

"This infor— classified. You must stop asking this."

"Or what?"

"This information is classified." His heart was working almost like a rabbaroo now. "You must stop asking this," the Firebender repeated, and then inhaled, and Aang struck, setting the air aflame before the Firebender could react, filling his lungs with fire and scorching them black before he could even realize what had just happened.

Aang collected himself, and gave a single sweeping gaze around the burning landscape before he walked out of the village, keeping his gaze slightly toward the ground so he wouldn't trip over any corpses (funny… he'd thought there were only ten people attacking him).

No doubt they'd brand him with yet another name after word of this got around.

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"There's something which I don't quite understand, though," said The Mechanist, as Zuko turned to leave him after their talk.

"Oh? And what's that, my friend?"

"It's these machines…" The Mechanist trailed off, and then picked it up again after a moment. "I've heard about some of the technology that the Roses are using, and a few of their machines seem almost like mine, just…"

"Just what?" the Fire Lord asked gently.

The Mechanist looked up from the latest set of blueprints he was writing. "It's just that they're outfitted for warfare purposes. And I don't mean that they've been modified _after _construction. It's like somebody got my schematics and modified _those_. Has there been a theft of my designs that you haven't told me about, Zuko?"

"What has happened, has _happened_," replied the Fire Lord. "I didn't want you to worry about something that you couldn't change, and think that it was somehow your fault."

The Mechanist nodded, but then stopped. "You need to find out where they're _building_ these, Zuko."

"Excuse me?"

"I just realized it," explained The Mechanist. "They must be building these in the _Fire Nation_."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"One of the designs… It required _very _specialized equipment. If they were building them— and they _are_, because it's a modified version of mine- not a jury-rigged or field-modded version- which means that they had to be building them from scratch— then they'd have to have that equipment, too. And those factories… we'd _know_ if there were any factories like that in Red Rose territory, you just can't hide something like _those_. Not with the supplies you'd need, and the preparation, and…" He took a quick breath as his mind raced, and looked like he was about to undergo a seizure as he stood up suddenly. "But if they've got a factory _here_, then they'd have to have a way of getting it past the greatfleet blockades, but they…" The Mechanist's eyes widened. "Oh, no… Zuko, there's a traitor in your—" He gasped and crumpled to the floor with a knife in his chest. "Zuko… why?"

"I'm sorry, my friend, but with the way your mind works, it would have been about half a minute before you made that last jump from 'there's a traitor in the Fire Nation' to '_I_ am helping the Army of the Red Rose.' Don't worry, though. I'm very proud of you and of your sacrifice."

"What are…" The Mechanist coughed, and it sounded as if a lung was filling with blood. "What are you talking… about?"

"Well, if you hadn't taken the blow for me, that assassin would have gotten me for sure. But because of your _noble _sacrifice, I was able to react accordingly and kill the assassin before he could make a second attempt." The Fire Lord smiled. "Don't worry, my friend. Teo will be saddened to hear of your passing, but I do not doubt for even a second that his spirits will be uplifted, at least somewhat, to hear of how honorable you were. The entire Fire Nation shall revere you as the savior of their leader, my friend."

The Fire Lord looked down, and saw that The Mechanist had died at some point during his short talk, likely having drowned in his own blood, and gave another small, almost regretful, smile. "You're a martyr now, my friend. Another fallen comrade whose memory the people of the world may rally under. And _that_ will, in its own way, be just as valuable as any of the machines you designed for me." Zuko paused. "Your memory shall never die among my people. Never doubt that."

---

_Water Year 1107_

_Pin Dang, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

It was a quaint little village near a mountain pass, quite close to the Eastern Air Temple. Perhaps four or five hundred inhabitants all taken together. A few of them had the features of Air Nomads— gray eyes and brown or black hair— but for a place like this, smack dab in the middle of one of the Air Nomads' ancient migratory routes, he expected it. And it didn't mean anything, either. _Ty Lee _wouldn't have stuck out the least amount in an Air Temple, provided she was in the proper clothing, but she certainly wasn't an Airbender, nor did she have the capability to be one. She even _acted_ like an Air Nomad, but it didn't prove to make a lick of difference.

These people weren't Air Nomads, weren't Airbenders, never would ever be, and weren't the reason he had come here in the first place.

There were stories around this place. Of a tall woman with who commanded the spirits. They said she could fly from place to place and could raise a tornado against her enemies. She could mimic every sound in the world, pretending to be friend or foe from an unseen point, and she carried a broom with her wherever she went, to sweep away behind her the evidence of her passing by.

All of this could be explained within terms of Airbending. The flying and command over the winds was easy enough, and Aang had once seen Elder Pasang imitate a dozen different things with his voice, ranging from Gyatso to the burbling of a creek; Pasang had said that it had to do with how sound was affected by air. Aang didn't _quite_ understand how it worked, since he was only eleven at the time, and Pasang was notoriously bad at explaining things in terms understandable for someone who didn't likely already know what he was talking about, but he remembered that it had to do with _air_.

So, chalk up another point for "Possible Airbender."

The broom bit wasn't as obvious, but it seemed to him that it could be a glider, which could have been later adapted into the form of a broomstick as the tale was told again and again. It would seem as good an explanation as any as to why they were unable to track her, Aang reasoned, and if she had a glider, then it was easy enough to make the jump from "I caught of a glimpse of her with a pole and we can't track her easily" to "She had a broom, and sweeps away her trail, which is why it's so hard to track her." Her affinity with the spirits might be based in fact, but could also be attributed to the habit of people confronted with the unknown to further mystify things. It wasn't hard to do so, when spirits really _did_ break down your village if they got angry, and there were people running around who could control rocks with their minds, or heal people with water, or shoot fire from their hands.

All of this added up to, if not a definite Air Nomad living here, then at least a much better chance than he'd found so far. This was why he was in a village named Pin Dang. Looking for a woman who was named Malu, and called the Ghost-Witch.

Three days later, Aang discovered a chamber deep within a half-hidden cave. It had a number of possessions inside, ranging from a small table and a chair, to minor knickknacks which Aang immediately recognized as being Air Nomad in origin. There wasn't any noise in the place, even from the hallways (or was it better to call them tunnels?), and Aang slowly walked from one room to another (though was that the best way to describe them, when it was merely a door— of sorts— which separated this portion of the caverns from the rest?).

"Malu?" he called, and though it was barely above a whisper, it echoed through the cave. "I'm Aang. I'm the Avatar. If you're here, it would mean so much if you would come out. I'm an Air Nomad, just like you."

The place was a mess, but Aang could tell that it had once been quite orderly. This wasn't the sort of mess that came from messy people, this was the sort of mess that came when orderly people stopped being orderly, stopped maintaining. Things looked like they'd spilled out of the orderliness, not thrown around to begin with. He wondered what sort of mental state she'd be in, when he found her.

He turned a corner, found out, and fell to his knees.

Legends get told even after those who inspired them were long dead. So was it any wonder that he had found someone who said he had seen her just a week ago, when she looked like she had been dead just for barely a month?

She hadn't even died of old age or disease or anything else, even. All it had taken was one misstep, one head cracked against the floor, and one search just a few weeks too late, for all his hopes to come crashing down again.

* * *

**A/N **Once again, the poll on my profile asks you what you think of Zuko after receiving this new information. Also, if any of you know of some interesting Eastern traditions involving cakes, or cake-like foods, I'd very much appreciate it if you gave me some info. So far I've just got info on suncakes and mooncakes, although I actually wouldn't be too surprised if that was all there was. Mooncakes are so diverse that it seems like all it needs to be called such is a bit of bread, and you can do whatever you want to it and still call it a mooncake. Custard mooncakes, jelly-coated mooncakes, frosted mooncakes, mooncakes with pepper filling, or chicken...

**A/N **Once again, I'm going to ask that those in the know please tell me if there's any _Spice and Wolf_ fanfics out there. We've only got eight on this site, and one of those is in Spanish. We've got something like a billion _Harry Potter_ stories, and... eight _Spice and Wolf_ stories? I like Harry Potter just as much as the next guy (okay, maybe a little less, especially after Deathly Hallows), but come on! Eight _Spice and Wolf_ fics? If aliens come down and say that we have to prove our worth to intergalactic society or be destroyed, they're going to be taking one look at how little love we've given to the really good stories, and write us off.

Also, a link to the ending song is on my profile now. Along with some rather creepier songs, this is probably all I'm going to be listening to as I write_ All the Myriad Faces: Nini's Book_. It'll be cheerier than this story, I hope, but I think that might make the bad times even worse.


	10. What Have We Come To?

Hmm... I don't know quite why, but the Casualty List just isn't working for me... Most of the plot-relevant deaths have happened by now, anyways, and so there's really just going to be lists of characters you know who happened to have died. And, looking at the dates, you're probably going to see twenty old people in the list over the next few chapters, since I was trying to make this as comprehensive as possible. So... If you're interested in learning about who has died recently, PM me and I'll tell you. But otherwise... The only deaths you might be interested in are Haru and Lee. Red Roses, actually, which I think fits with their character.

_A__lyx the Dark Wanderer: ...to be honest i don't really think [Malu the Ghost-Witch] died by falling and hitting her head, but i'm wondering who would want to kill her. _Congratulations! You just ensured that I'm going to leave this up to you and the rest of the readers. I was originally intending on this being accidental, but it's now entirely possible that it was actually because she was murdered. Try and figure out who, why don't you? Readers irritated by the introduction of yet another mystery into the series should keep in mind that this is Alyx's fault. XD Those wishing to take out their frustrations may find Alyx at 3029 Clearwater Drive, Lansing, MI, under the name Sarah Jones.*

_what about that little girl, Moku was it? that Aang thought was anAirbender?_ Well, Aang would just plain want to have another "real" Air Nomad, wouldn't he? And that's all I'm going to say about it. That's enough foreshadowing, although... You haven't heard about everything that's happened to Moku. Okay... I should shut up now before I give it all away.

*Not really, but if I actually _was_ correct somehow, Alyx/Sarah is probably _really_ freaked out right now. And so would I, because I don't even think there's a Clearwater Drive in Lansing. I'd be entirely okay with having guessed right, though, probability and statistics being what they are. Sorry Alyx/Sarah!

_Shadow Wasserson:_ _In addition, you've killed off so many other characters, without any kind of release, drama, or satisfaction for the reader, it hardly seems surprising._ Now this is what I hate most of all about this story. While you say that it's not really satisfying at all, there have been a few people who have said that the suddeness of it all actually HAS been a plus point. So... What am I supposed to do? On the one hand, I feel especially indebted to you due to your help with the story, but on the other hand... You seem to be in the minority (though I admit that I haven't made an exact count).

_The fire wolf [in the Nini's Book teaser] seemed to be a bit out of nowhere, though, at least for this little teaser. He needs more background and integration in to the Avatar world. _Don't worry. He's going to be VERY integegrated into the world. Far more than you can realize. Without saying too much, he's probably one of the most important characters in the story.

_Did Zuko stab [The Mechanist] personally, or did one of the Dai Li?_ Zuko did it.

_If Zuko, why was he carrying a knife on him? Paranoia?_ The knife is the one that Iroh sent him years ago, during the siege of Ba Sing Se. He carries it around because it's important to him. And, also, because it's easier to not give up without a fight when one has a means of fighting. Preferably one that the enemy isn't expecting. Like a knife being wielded by a master Firebender. In retrospect, I suppose that you actually could call it paranoia, though I would prefer to classify it as "early-stage Batman-style crazy preparedness." It runs in the family, actually. Just wait to see what sort of trap the first Fire Lord had planted in the Royal Palace...

While the details are slightly in the air right now, I have a feeling that the very first Fire Lord wrote the book on crazy preparedness.

_Ogro: And, well, you sort of spoiled that Aang dies and Zuko doesnt kill him to everyone. _No. Just the people who read the teaser. Oh... wait... But that was intentional, to a degree. I couldn't figure out a way to write the scene without that, but people were wanting some Toph action (speaking of which, Toph appears in this chappie, readers) and I decided that I may as well include it, to further make up for missing the update. Still, that only means that ZUKO didn't kill him. As has been hinted before, Chung isn't loyal to Zuko, and as will become apparent here, Zuko isn't the only one playing a game of Pai Sho with the world.

_...but I'm a bit concerned about this new Master Sud. Who the hell is changing history? Are they saying The War never happened?_ Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. To be brief, especially since third book will explain in more detail, the Order of the White Lotus has been prepared to rewrite the history of The War since the day it began. They absolutely canNOT have anyone even consider the possibility of taking over the entire world, and the best way to limit the amount of people who do is by making sure that they don't come across it in the history books. It was one of the biggest schemes they've ever had to pull off, but eleven centuries ago, after the death of Avatar Hahn, they had to rewrite it to an even greater degree. And they didn't have nearly the resources or influence they do now.

_Interesting that these Chan models can wield blue fire and lightning..._ Blue fire and lightning really just depend on the Firebender's skill. Keep in mind that Firebending does involve emotion and passion, while to use lightning requires clarity of mind and an ABSENCE of passion, more or less. Their use of both blue fire and lightning was specifically shown in order to demonstrate how they're able to switch between the two mindsets pretty much instantly. Rather like Azula, except that they were designed to have such control over their emotions.

_Also kind of funny how Aang was playing with his mind and his brain almost imploded._ And so we see that there are still "kinks" to be worked out. Back to the drawing board for the Dai Li, I suppose.

_Walker of the Wheel: It would be nice to see a little of Toph on stage. _READERS! Your wait has ended. Creepy, scary, terrifying, mind-snapped!Toph has arrived. And nobody can really tell, either. She just seems a little bit more withdrawn...

_The masks are an interesting idea. I'm trying to wrap more of my mind around the cosmology/history to see where all they may lead but I've got so many philosophies running in my head right now I'm not certain I'll be able to sort them out. _Tell me all your ideas. Even though most of them will probably be wrong, I'm going to be posting all the theories up here again pretty soon, and someone else might be able to figure something out from the kernel of correctness in an otherwise completely wrong idea.

_Points: _108 (42 till next clue)

**Your Clue: **The First Fire Lord fought against Avatar Hahn, eleven centuries ago.

66% of you think that Zuko may (MAY) be struggling, but that he's too fargone to be "saved." 16% of you think that he's still on the side of good, just struggling a bit, and convinced that the ends justify the means. While I didn't ask this, I'm pretty sure that this was influenced in part by his attempts to assure The Mechanist that his death wouldn't be in vain. The remaining 16% of you believe that Zuko has gone over to the Dark Side, but that he's going to be redeemed by the end of the story.

Six more chapters to go...

**A/N** Due to confusion by Shadow Wasserson, I have retconned Xin Fu into being the same Xin Fu you know from the series. For some reason, I find this to be rather appropriate. Let the confusion END, for you now know that Xin Fu and Xin Fu are one and the same!

* * *

**Chapter Nine: What Have We Come To? **

_Water Year 1108_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"Get them out of here, Mai," Zuko said. "How will lead you through one of the passages."

"I'm not leaving without you."

The Fire Lord stared into her eyes. "There are things going on which are bigger than you and me. When they breach the doors, it won't be just our lives at stake. If our children die, then the bloodline goes as well, and our country will face the same fate as the Air Nomads. There _must_ be a Fire Lord, even if he does not wear the crown."

"You trust How enough to lead us through, so why can't _he _do it?" Mai countered.

"Because I won't let _them _lose their mother." There was an explosion, distant and far, and Zuko turned back to her after glancing around. "Go!"

Mai ran down the halls, the Dai Li escorting her to the children's bedrooms (or, rather, trying to keep up as she headed there), and the Fire Lord walked slowly to the throne room. His attackers knew exactly what he would do, and there was no harm in playing directly into their hands. He knew what _they _would be doing, too.

_Water Year 1108_

_The Fringe, The Earth Kingdom (Red Rose territory)_

At the southernmost edge of the continental Earth Kingdom lies a mountain range. There are many mountains in the Earth Kingdom, true, but there is something that sets these ones apart from all the others. While Northern Air Temple may rest upon the mountain which is the highest in the world, it is merely a towering obelisk amongst relative molehills. It is this place which has the highest mountain range. That is to say, these mountains are not only second only to that upon which the Northern Air Temple rests, but they are all very much close together in height.

A long time ago, people believed that this was the spine of the Lion-turtle upon the back of which the world rests. This is a place which, if that legend is false, and another is true, just may have been created in a time when gods walked the land, and the world was twisted and shaped and torn apart by a grand war the likes of which had been only hinted at when Sozin launched his own little conflict. Or perhaps it reaches even further back. Perhaps this mountain range has simply been, existing now and forevermore because that's the way it's always been. But this mountain range marked the place where the forces of the Earth King dared not tread, once, long ago. For a very long time, even in the chaos of a dying empire, the lands beyond this point were not the Earth King's, not any more than he owned the mountains upon which the Northern Air Temple existed. This was the Fringe. A place with a thousand tales attached to it, where a thousand armies have fought over it, where the 28th Earth King made a stand against a mad emperor, which would be the king's last, and his nation's first.

And now blood is being spilled upon the rocks yet again.

---

Toph stands at the head of her army, and leads them slowly.

A twitch of her hand, and an avalanche of rocks comes down. The Earthbending Roses instantly deflect their attention to this, blocking or diverting most of the rockslide, but a few still come down, crushing soldiers as they fall down the mountainside.

Most survived, some didn't. Net gain.

The Roses redouble their assault, pounding relentlessly against Toph's forces. Sharp-edged rocks tear through armor and massive boulders simply bash their targets to pulp. Pillars rise from the ground, toppling over to either crush those beneath it, or rush forward like some sort of ram. There is a clang of swords, a thunderous din providing what is to Toph a peaceful background noise. There's nothing but the battle right now.

Though Toph moves slowly, taking only four or five steps a minute, the rest of her alternates between blur and stone-like stillness, throwing attack after attack. It doesn't matter that most of these are easily seen, easily blocked or diverted or commandeered. Some make it through, and that's all that matters. She pushes her army slowly, advancing so little that it's nearly impossible to see the difference from one point to another ten minutes later, but there _is _an advance.

Toph does not relent. Not every attack has to get through. Better than a hundred attacks fail and the hundred-and-first succeed in a single minute, than two attacks in ten minutes, one failing, one succeeding massively. This isn't a war that they can win through massive victories. Zuko thought he could win that way, and he lost so many of his people being taught otherwise.

She just gained an inch, and that's all. But they'll _never_ lose that inch, and _that_ is why the Roses will lose this war. Inch by inch they will be forced to fall back, a thousand droplets of blood being just as dangerous as a bucketful, but less noticed.

She has only lost Gaoling.

---

Five years had not done much for her height, and she is perhaps only an inch or two taller than she had been at the age of twelve. And if her Bending has changed in any way, it is only because she has developed even further skill. But that's about all that's stayed the same. She's become more withdrawn, now. More brutal. Flatter. Harsher. Angrier.

And suffering more pain every day. It's like her soul had been torn in half years ago, and one of the pieces has been tossed away. There's an incompleteness inside, which gnaws at her day and night. This war is changing everyone, but for Toph… By the time the war came, Toph had already been changed.

After that last reunion at the South Pole, after that single breakdown she still couldn't quite understand the cause of, Toph had just made excuses not to show up to anything else, or see anyone.

Eventually, she stopped making excuses altogether, and that was the last anybody saw of her, until she fought the king and claimed the throne of Omashu, then handed it over to Kuei two weeks later, and vanished once again.

Only to reappear once again, when armies began to march beneath the banner of a blood-red rose.

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

The doors to the throne room pounded once again, and finally were broken open. Eight men came inside as the dust settled and coalesced in slowly descending swirls, walking in a wedge-like formation, their faces obscured by the hoods of the red-speckled green robes they wore.

"How long was that, Xin Fu?" Zuko asked the Dai Li agent standing to his left.

"Just a little over twenty-four minutes since the attack started, outside the gates, Fire Lord."

"Funny. I was expecting a little better. Ah, well, I suppose the matter is moot now, seeing as you're _finally _here." Zuko shook his head slowly. "Keeping the royalty waiting. Unh-uh. _Not _a good strategy for getting on my good side, you know. Doubtless, you think you're going to kill me," he told the silent, robed figures. "But you should realize that this is going to be a job easier said than done."

"Why do you think we brought so many?" the lead figure asked, his voice crisp and clear, spoken like a true noble. "One of us would have been enough for anyone else."

"Evidently not, since you seem to be missing a member of your merry little band. Tell me, was a palace full of guards too much for you?"

"A palace-full. Exactly. He killed tens of your people on his own before he died."

"Well, unfortunately for you, you'll find that _I _am a lot better. I really am glad I told my uncle to leave, you know. He would have killed half of you before you managed to get a blow on him, and then how much fun would there be left for _me?_"

"We know he's slowing down, Zuko," the lead figure said. "We know that he's sick."

"So he is," Zuko agreed. "But he's not here, anymore. _I _am, and I should warn you that I am not something to be trifled with."

"We're going to end this war today."

Zuko stood up from his throne, and flattened a crease in his robes. "No, I don't think you are."

"We have waited too long for this, Grandmaster Zuko."

"Of course…" Zuko grinned. "But I think you've got the wrong man, you know. That would be my uncle. Sorry to waste your time."

The lead figure lowered his hood, revealing a heavily scarred man, perhaps in his late thirties, though the marks made it hard to tell. Upon his forehead was the tattoo of an eye. "You may as well be. We know that he has already appointed you as his successor."

"I'm surprised to find you here, Yi Ming," said Zuko. "But if you really insist… Admittedly, Grandmaster Zuko of the Order of the White Lotus _does_ have a nice ring to it. And I suppose I may as well get used to it."

"And so the circle closes again," Yi Ming said. "That blasphemous society is once again ruled by the same blood which founded it."

"I'm afraid that I'm not quite able to agree with your description of the Order."

"We all know why the Order was created."

A thoughtful look crossed his face, and Zuko gave a quick shake of his head. "I don't think Xin Fu does. He doesn't have the clearance for it," he explained, and then turned quickly to the Dai Li for a moment. "Hope you don't take any offense at that. It's just the truth." He looked back at Yi Ming, and smiled. "I don't understand why you've persisted for so long. I am mere years away from being in a position to crush your people beneath my boot entirely."

"Anything to bring him back."

"Yes, well, I guess that's where we really disagree, isn't it? Personally, I rather think that it was for the better, seeing as how we ended the global rule of a bloody-fisted tyrant."

"And what do you think you're doing now?" spat Yi Ming. "I must say, the resemblance to your great-grandfather is uncanny. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was standing here before me instead of you. And the resemblance isn't just physical."

"There's balance," Zuko responded, "and then there's _balance_. You have no idea what I'm doing, and I'll kill as many people as I have to, to achieve my aims. And you're plenty corrupt yourself; I heard from my uncle that there was a time that you actually _cared _about what you're trying to do and held it up as your supreme duty. Now you're just plain trying to take over the world."

"Like _you're_ not," was not the reply Yi Ming gave, for it was obvious enough to all. Instead, he said, "_He_ will rule, Zuko. Not us."

"I'm so very _sure_ of that." Zuko shook his head, and sighed, and then there was a dangerous fire in his eyes as he adjusted the crown upon his head. "Just _face it_, Yi Ming: Your god is _dead_. We killed him over a thousand years ago, and he is _never_ coming back."

"Now that's where _you're_ wrong. Once we get rid of the Order of the White Lotus, we will finally be able to bring his plans to fruition. And you know as well as us that he will never truly die."

"I'm giving you one final chance, Yi Ming. I'll let you leave, if you choose to do so right now." Yi Ming's response was merely to wreath his hands in flame, and several others among the figures did the same, while water formed in the hands of another, and the remaining two revealed the armor of stone they'd been wearing under their robes, fashioning it quickly into a usable weapon.

"So be it," the Fire Lord sighed, and launched himself into the battle with a speed they hadn't anticipated.

A fiery blast engulfed one of the men as Xin Fu leapt into the fray, and engaged in battle with the two Earthbenders, going straight for the kill and nearly overwhelming them in only a matter of seconds.

"There's something you should have thought about, Yi Ming," Zuko said as he jumped over a wave of fire. "I am not some puppet, like the Earth Kings were, nor am I as weak as Kuei is even now, struggling to regain total control over his kingdom. I am not the chief of some minor tribe, or a single, massive city. I am not a mere monk on a council." A wall of fire spilled from his hands, reaching a dozen feet into the air, blocking an attack. "I am the living embodiment of my country. I. Am. The _Fire Lord_… And so, when you fight _me_, you fight the Fire Nation."

The room filled with the scent of blood and fire.

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Makapu Village, The Fire Colonies_

Aang walked through the streets, and while the streets were full of people, nobody bothered him like they usually did. He asked Aunt Wu about this, when he walked into her establishment, and she explained that she had already told the villagers that he would be coming, and had asked them to let him go to her without adding to his troubles. Though if he looked too depressed they might try and give him a fox-mask anyways. Or some cake.

"Why a fox-mask?" he asked.

"It's traditional. There's a fox spirit who used to live in this land, and comfort the weary and those in mourning."

"That must have been nice."

"You're two minutes late," she added.

"Really?"

"Yup," Meng as she briefly entered the room, just long enough to hand Aunt Wu a pouch, and a stack of cards.

"So you want to know about your people, yes?"

"How did you know?" Aang asked, and then mentally berated himself.

"Half of my fortunetelling comes just from knowing a lot about how people think, Aang. The greatest oracle in the world is worthless if she doesn't know anything about what makes people tick. And if you do not restore the Air Nomads, you believe, then the Avatar Cycle will come to an end."

"Yes," Aang said.

"Why do you believe that I will know the answer, Aang?"

"You can read the future, Aunt Wu. Isn't that enough?"

Aunt Wu took a sip of tea from the cup Meng had just handed her. "True. Very true." She paused, and stared into her tea. "But don't think that I'm somebody who knows more than what meets the eye. Someone like me just sees the patterns, Aang. I see probabilities. That's why I've always said that you have to choose the future I give you."

"But what about the volcano?"

"Were someone as perceptive as I, they too would be able to do what I do. Though just between you and me," Aunt Wu leaned close, "I wasn't expecting the volcano to blow that year." She smiled, and laughed softly. "Your friend Toph could perceive through sonic waves, or at least that's what I've heard."

"Vibrations, actually."

"Ah." Aunt Wu smiled. "I'd thought that Pu-on Tim didn't know what he was talking about, when he came to the village. Your Sokka might have been somewhat rude at times, but he wasn't that obsessed with eating. But to return to my point, your Toph was an Earthbender, just like everybody else. But because she was patient enough, and aware enough, she could perceive things nobody else could, and yet were available to any Earthbender who would bother making a great enough effort to tap their potential."

"I suppose that's true," Aang said slowly.

"And so it is with me. I just pay attention to things, and even when there isn't enough information, I have enough experience to draw upon— both mine and that of the woman who taught me, and on and on, just as Meng will have my knowledge to draw upon once I have fully taught her— that I can draw an accurate conclusion. And when that isn't enough, I can usually get just a little bit more by sitting, and _listening_. Gut instinct, you could say."

"So you don't really tell the future, then, do you?" Aang said.

"It depends on your perspective, Aang. I am aware of the many possibilities for you, and I know how likely each of them are, just as I was aware of what would happen to Meng." She looks at the door and then, satisfied that they are alone and there will be no interruptions for the time being, resumes speaking. "She is not the most beautiful of women, of course. This doesn't affect how she sees herself all that much, but it did back then, when I first met her and took her as my apprentice. And then I told her that she would marry a man with large ears."

"Yeah. Thanks for sending her at me," Aang smiled.

"But at this point," Aunt Wu continued, "she didn't really understand how I worked my craft. And so she believed that it was inevitable. Shortly after you left, she _did_ in fact meet a boy with large ears and, well, they're hitting it off quite well, so to speak, even though she knows how I really work now. But she never would have had the courage to talk to him if she hadn't thought that she was fated to marry him."

"So what you're saying is—"

"I see the possibilities, Aang, and then I help make the best one. I heard your Sokka when he commented to a man on how, if the same shoes were worn every day, then _of course_ his true love would be met while he was wearing those shoes. And that's pretty much the point. And in the meantime, he'd feel just a little bit better, perhaps, knowing that even if he didn't meet his true love that day, he eventually would. I'd told him he would, after all. What I say is generally self-fulfilling, and what isn't, is simply the most probable. It didn't seem like the village would be destroyed by the volcano that year."

"So you can't help me at all, can you?"

"Not with finding your people, no. But I _can_ tell you something else, Aang. Two things, actually."

"Whatever you think will help."

"Firstly, things are going to be getting a lot worse before they get better. And second, the Fire Lord is not what he seems."

"What are you saying?" Aang asked.

"Simply that. He treasures your friendship, Aang. That, I will not dispute. But there is much about him of which you are unaware, and you would do your best to tread lightly, and stay aware at all times."

"He would never hurt me."

"Aang…" Aunt Wu paused. "To misjudge Zuko would carry a terrible cost, not just for him and yourself, but for the world. I am not saying that he would hurt you, nor am I saying that he would _not_. All I am saying is that you should be careful around him. You should be careful around _everyone_."

"Thank you for your wisdom, Aunt Wu," he said, standing up and bowing.

"You are very welcome."

---

When the Avatar left, Aunt Wu retired to her room, and wept for what she had seen. Joy and sadness both would result from this, but there would be _much_ pain. All she could do is help Aang— and, through him, the world, for nothing the Avatar did would not concern the world— choose the _least_ painful path. The whole world would be forced to travel through the fire one day, and the most she could hope for was to find the quickest path through it.

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

Zuko ducked under a burst of fire and swept a flaming leg under one of the assassins, knocking him over and punching him in the gut before rolling forward. The Waterbender struck out at Zuko with a lash formed of his element, constantly changing it from water to ice and back, moving almost too fast for Zuko to react to, and then freezing just before striking. Each next attack is already almost begun by the time he notices the one before it.

Propelling himself up with his flames, he ducked behind one of the pillars of the room just as the water whip sliced through it, cutting clean through the whole thing, but Zuko was already leaping toward the Waterbender, fire spouting from his hands like two massive blades. Flipping backwards as he hit the ground, he dodged the next attack, and then leaned to the side to avoid the blast of flame from behind him. One of the other Firebenders drew back his hands to prepare an attack, but Zuko paid him no mind, moving swiftly toward and gutting one of the other assassins with his flames as Xin Fu came up from behind and delivered a swift blow to the Firebender's neck.

A sheet of rock sharp as a knife came flying at Zuko, and he ducked down before returning fire, sending the Earthbender's body slamming into the wall before it crumpled over, smoking— though not quite dead, judging by the twitching. The Firebender he'd impaled with flame had fired up his open hands and rushed toward Zuko, weaving this way and that, striking and dodging counterstrikes before he was consumed entirely when Zuko fell flat on his face just in time to dodge a blast from Yi Ming.

The water whip came at Zuko again, but dodging that sent him halfway into the path of a piece of sharp ice, grazing his side. He pushed himself off the ground, rising back up before falling backwards into another cartwheel— he'd have to thank Ty Lee, for those lessons, if he ever got the chance— and kicked off a burst of flame into someone's face as he rolled a few feet away. Streams of fire came at him at he ran between pillars, taking shots at his attackers in between runs, and then stood in the open for just a second longer than he needed.

Long enough for Xin Fu, driving his stone gloves into the metal, to scurry up a pillar unnoticed. Zuko got a light burn for his pause, but he had twisted out of the way before the fire had done more than brushed him, and only a breath later a wide cone of flame came out from his position. Zuko took a moment behind the pillar and then moved out of the way just as a massive piece of rock came bashing through it, and then returned to the Earthbender, only to be sent out at Zuko again, like some sort of toy the Fire Lord couldn't quite remember the name of. He propelled himself into the air with a blast of fire, and then pushed himself forward, hurtling straight toward one of the Firebenders.

He took the fire coming at him, and made it his own, feeding it and letting it grow to massive proportions in the three-and-a-half seconds it took for him to reach his target, and then he released it. The inferno raged, scorching the Firebender to the bone and warping the metal flooring of the throne room as Zuko struggled to retain control. The fire he had unleashed filled half the massive room, nearly reaching the throne room, and shrunk and grew at the same time, constantly changing in shape.

---

Fire was a living thing. If you listen to it, you can talk to it. And if you talk to it, you can find out what it wants. Which is, of course, to consume.

To conquer fire requires a strong will. Or, alternately, an offer to give it exactly what it wants if only it helps you.

---

The fire paused, flaring around Zuko and beginning to grow inward, coalescing around the Fire Lord, and as it did so he turned around, standing upon the only piece of cool ground on his side of the throne room.

This would not kill them all, he knew. At least Yi Ming would survive. Likely as not one or two others would manage it as well. But morale was always something to consider, and the belief in the superiority of your god does nothing when even you admit that he is dead, and unable to help you at this current point. Dead gods do not save souls, nor do they save the bodies those souls are housed in.

The fire crackled.

The Fire Lord said only one thing. "Okay."

The flames expanded again, racing toward the Fire Lord's enemies.

---

_Water Year 1108_

_The Fringe, The Earth Kingdom (Red Rose territories)_

General Toph Bei Fong.

When one takes into account all of her achievements, and her mastery of Earthbending, it's not that hard to realize why she has the rank. In scant weeks she'd rapidly gone from leading a small group of soldiers to an entire army, being promoted as far as the Council of Five itself. Many people were dying, and regardless of any other considerations, those empty seats weren't going to fill themselves. It's the same reason Katara went from being a civilian to captain of the _Red Gale_ in such a short time.

So with all this, it's perhaps quite easy to forget something: Toph is seventeen years old.

And she feels like she's dying from the inside out.

---

A flaming boulder launches at her, and she sweeps the ground with her left foot, raising a wall to take the blow, and then pushes it out, knocking down Roses like pins. There's a sound like arrows flying, but she ignores it. Another soldier has already cut them in halves long before they reach her.

Raising her arms, she lifts up a massive block of stone before letting it drop upon the Roses in the middle of their army. Moments before it makes contact, it falls apart into dust, and she draws back her hand. The Roses thought to block her attack, but there are over a hundred coated in the dust now, and as it comes together, it looks almost as if those Roses are being consumed by liquid stone. Some of the Earthbenders try to tear down the pillars, but she adjusts her stance, sending the stone after those who she sees Bending.

It spreads almost like some sort of fast-acting plague, and the Roses realize far too late that she's using this to find out where their Earthbenders are. Some of the pillars are set aflame by Firebenders trying to somehow melt the stone away, but she declines to point out that they are merely roasting their companions alive. Within minutes, every Earthbender fighting for the other side is encased within a stone pillar, completely restrained and unable to Bend, and the slow advance starts to become a rush, just as a tiny pebble manages to dislodge a slightly larger one, until finally the entire mountain seems to be rushing down.

But though they were winning the battle by leaps and bounds now, and her army was rushing past her as she remained rooted in her spot, it was, to say the least, quite _dull_ now. There was nothing left but to make sure that the next stage of the trap was set off successfully, and that it was, for the Roses had nowhere else to go.

---

Some time later, the battle ends, and Toph's army falls back, returning to the camp. The opposition has been dealt with thoroughly. Completely. No survivors.

They leave their general behind, to remain among the stone coffins encasing hundreds of soldiers. They think that the war has hurt her terribly. They think that she uses this time to mourn for the dead, perhaps even the dead on both sides. They respect her for this, perhaps even more than they would otherwise.

But they are completely wrong.

Toph ensures that there is air in every last pillar encasing one of the Roses. There is a crack in each pillar, allowing just enough that every breath gives the lungs just enough to work with. Suffocation is staved off only barely. Until the battle is over.

For once the battle is over, she walks among the stone pillars, and all at once they close up entirely, and those within have nothing left to breathe. Toph can hear their heartbeats. Every last pulse, even as they grow weaker, and slower, until they stop altogether. In the utter silence of the battlefield, it is _deafening_ when she focuses on it to such a degree.

This is the only thing that keeps her sane. Listening to this, these weakening, slowing heartbeats and the gasps for air which isn't there, so that it is _impossible _to think of anything but the pounding, weakening beat, is all the respite she has. Her soul has been torn in two, and it hurts so _badly_. It's all she can do not to kill herself. She wouldn't even have to try all that hard. She can't swim, after all. Just find some water deep enough that it's over her head, jump in, and it's all over.

One of these days, she may do that.

But for now, she finds her peace surrounded by the sound of death, and screams so faint that only she can feel them.

---

The blood ceases to flow from the corpses on the battlefield. But it's only a brief respite. The rocks and soil will be stained red again, in time.

Forever and after, because this is way it's always been. The Cycle turns round and round, and shall never end.

Except.

Everything in the world is tied _intimately _to the Avatar Cycle. Were that to fall apart, then there's no telling what would happen.

Maybe nothing.

The world is always remarkably indifferent to those who most believe themselves to be important, and why should the Avatar be any different?

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Capital City, the Fire Nation_

The fire dissipated, and two burning bodies— or what was left of them, anyways— collapsed onto the ground, crumbling into the ashes upon the red-hot floor. Unsurprisingly, the only ones left were the Firebenders, though Zuko _was_ rather astonished that one of them had a massive, half-healed burn scar in his chest. Zuko would have expected the figure to have died by this point, if not from his wounds then from the inferno, but… Score one for all-consuming zealotry and heat-of-the-moment in-combat healing courtesy of the late Waterbender and finished up by self-cauterization.

Not that it would matter in the end.

Zuko rushed forward, dissipating the heat below him just a moment before each step, and leaned low at the last second for a quick strike to the Firebender's legs, a trail of fire following his hands with each motion they made. Xin Fu dropped down from the ceiling, impaling the second nameless Firebender with sharp-edged stone shaped from his gloves, but was caught by Yi Ming before he could finish the upward motion he was performing on the prone assassin, falling onto the ground in a flaming heap before his would-be victim slowly got to his feet, shaken but recovering. He shoved two of his fingers inside the wound and gave a low, short moan as they lit up.

Still trembling, muttering something Zuko couldn't quite hear, the Firebender raced toward him, hands trailing behind him and filling with swirling, growing blue flames. Zuko ducked back and out of the way and put out the fire on his robes with one sweep of his hands before twisting around and delivering a series of punches and chops to the man, burning him severely with each strike, before a blast of fire from the other Firebender sent him flying halfway across the throne room, heavily burnt but not too severely. He'd still last the rest of the fight, however long it lasted.

"You know what's funny about attacking as a group?" Zuko said as he struggled to his feet, barely loud enough for them to hear. "All of you have different minds. You have different ways of attacking. And so you attack in a disorganized fashion, which means that I, knowing precisely every move _my_ side will make, can react accordingly. You trip each other up. And if you train _so _much that it all comes naturally, then I can disrupt _that_, too, because…" Zuko nearly collapsed, caught himself on a pillar, and went on. "Because, there's _always _a pattern. I just need to _find _it, and break it. And I have. You're beaten.

"There's less than half of you left, and you're afraid, and you don't know what to do, and Yi Ming, you're the only one who isn't chanting prayers to focus your mind and keep yourself fighting." Zuko shrugged and took a step away from the pillar. "Or maybe you are. Maybe you're not just so bad off that you have to start saying it out loud. I know that you're terrified right now, that you're wishing you'd brought even _more_ people with you. You didn't bring this many just because I was so good, you brought this many in the hopes that you could just stand back and let the others fight me."

Zuko smiled grimly, and took another step, steadied himself, and took another, though not a single one was toward the assassins. "And you're too… too easily entertained." Another step. "Too easily distracted." With a burst of flame the Fire Lord sent himself flying the last dozen feet toward his throne, landing upon the seat then jackknifing over and behind it. "It's no wonder you lost the war," the Fire Lord said. "The real one, I mean." There was the sound of metal sliding against metal behind the throne, and then Zuko launched himself from behind it, flame trailing behind him as the line of oil before the throne caught fire, and rose up, casting a brilliant, shadowy light in the room. "The one you just lost, right now, in this room."

The Fire Lord landed between the three Firebenders, and for a moment there was a pause, before he turned around and struck relentlessly at the one standing behind him, his newly-drawn Dao swords being set aflame with his first motion. "You should forget what I told you about group tactics," he said, leaping over a fiery blast from the side and landing behind his target, continuing his relentless assault. He hit once for every few strikes dodged, but every wound hurt the Firebender, and he had no time to cauterize it. "It was mostly just ashes, to buy time. Like right now," he said, and struck the Firebender straight through the middle with both blades before separating them and flipping back.

"You should have just tried to finish me off at the very beginning. Now you're hurt, and scared out of your minds, and it's just a game to me."

Yi Ming threw another blast of fire at Zuko, but he sent it vanishing into the air with a slice from one of his swords, and rolled forward to the other surviving assassin, striking upward and impaling him on the burning blades before withdrawing them cleanly as he launched himself backwards.

"So it's just you and me, now," Zuko said, stumbling as he rose from the ground, and both he and Yi Ming knew it wasn't an act this time.

"It was so nice of you to leave me almost completely unharmed until you were finally brought to your breaking point."

"Don't worry, Yi Ming," replied the Fire Lord, leaning against a pillar. "Do you know what this palace is built over?"

"A dormant volcano."

"Yeah. Well, mostly. Half-correct. I think." The Fire Lord shook his head slowly, and Yi Ming smiled as his opponent nearly collapsed onto the ground. This would be easier than he thought. Just let him keep talking, until he's worn himself out even further. The assassin wasn't a fool, and he knew, especially after such a display as he'd witnessed, that every bit of energy that seeped out of the Fire Lord would help enormously.

So you cannot blame him for his mistake, really. After all, Zuko truly _was_ at the end. And Yi Ming was terrified of the man, willing do whatever it took to weaken him that much further.

"How was it that my great-grandfather was able to win at the battle of Han Tui?" The Fire Lord paused, evidently waiting for an answer, and continued on when he received none. "Because even though his army was outnumbered, he cleverly calculated his advantages. The enemy was downwind, and there was a drought. Remember this?"

Yi Ming nodded. Of course. The battle was legendary, and even the least intelligent peasant of the Fire Nation would know the story.

"What the history books usually fail to mention, Yi Ming, is the cost to Sozin's army. Nearly every last soldier of his died in that forest fire."

This certainly was an interesting form of near-death delirium. Ranting on about old school lessons, it seemed, but then Yi Ming took a step back, when Zuko continued.

"Maybe it runs in the family, that sort of mad and crazy whatever-the-costs desperate sort of mentality, but what you have to realize, is that this palace, this whole ashen _city_, is like Han Tui."

"I'm not getting you." There was something so very wrong here, and Yi Ming readied himself to attack. In just a second, this mad rant wouldn't matter, and the Fire Lord would be dead.

"This place was built on a volcano, so that if the city was ever lost, it would be lost to the enemy, too."

"That— that's _impossible_. You can't _do_ something like that," Yi Ming stammered.

"You forget, Yi Ming, that I am the Fire Lord, the greatest Firebender to currently be alive. I am the Fire Nation, made flesh and blood by the crown I wear upon my head, and by the throne in which I sit. And I have been taught by the dragons themselves." And then the Fire Lord gasped, and the ground began to rumble, just slightly, and Yi Ming froze in horror at the realization of what was going to happen.

And then the ground ceased shaking, and Yi Ming gasped as the twin Dao swords entered him, pinned his arms to the pillar behind him, and the fire which had propelled Zuko so far, so fast, dissipated. The Fire Lord leaned on the blades, causing even more pain, panting heavily, bleeding, nearly slipping in the blood on the floor, though it was impossible to tell whose it was. "You shouldn't have let yourself be distracted. Now tell me _everything_."

"Or what?"

"Or I will not kill you."

"Doesn't seem like much of a threat."

"I know how to hurt someone just enough that they don't die," Zuko said slowly. "I could torture you for _decades_. So choose. A quick death, or an agonizing lifetime."

Yi Ming screamed.

Yi Ming died of his wounds less than twenty minutes longer, and though much of the last ten had been nothing more than prayers and chants to drive away the pain, Zuko still felt like he had learned quite a bit. Two rather interesting things, and any scrap of knowledge was worth a battle like this, in the war he was fighting. Soon, he would enter the room of the massive world map, and he would place the first of the Knotweed tiles. But for now, there was merely rest.

Fire Lord Zuko slipped off the handles of his blades, and fell onto the ground.

---

A long distance away, far from the Royal Palace, though not so far that the short-lived rumblings of the volcano could not be heard, Mai took out a pearl blade, and looked at it. It was not one of hers. It was Zuko's.

Upon it were the words "Never give up without a fight."

* * *

**A/N** Once again, please tell me what you think of Zuko in light of these events. Either through poll or review, please.


	11. The Butcher and the General

_Free Clue (of questionable use): _Some of you may have guessed this, given the very slight hints that I gave towards the beginning and some other chapters (and which were likely passed over unnoticed), but this is being narrated by somebody. This "somebody" may or may not be one of the characters in the _Consequences of Our Pasts _series, and may even be someone not even part of the Avatar universe (just to give you a few trillion more candidates). A review with a reasonable (or crackish) enough explanation for why a certain person is narrating this will get you a cookie (read: extra review point) or two, and I don't care if you claim that it's Koh narrating it, or The Master. Speaking of which, if you don't watch _Doctor Who_, do so _now_. And if you do, read _People Used to Dream About the Future _by Calapine_. _Link is in my profile. It's the _Thine is the Kingdom*_ of Doctor Who fandom. That is how the world ends, for Doctor Who.

The narrator is aware of everything that has happened, has through one method or another even figured out what they're thinking, for the most part, and is also slightly biased, since he's not perfect, and everybody has a little bit of bias (though whether that bias is the "I'm going to show all of this person's greatest moments of weakness so that they look totally screwed-up" kind or "I'm going to make sure I show all of this person's crowning moments of awesome even when it's not necessary" kind, is up to you). He still tries to make everything accurate, though, and if there's anything incorrect, it's a genuine mistake. If there _is_ anything wrong. Which there probably isn't. Probably.

If anybody is wondering why I'm doing stuff like this, it's to encourage a little bit of thought regarding the series, and genuinely reward you for the effort (if you can call it a reward when I just give you information which might screw up the theory you're working on). Being able to read your theories is the main reason I wrote this. Fine and dandy and all if you enjoy it, but my main aim was to see the gears in your heads turn. That's most enjoyable, and it also helps me create even more convoluted plots for other stories I'm writing. And since I'm planning quite a few conspiracy theory-related novels, I think I really need to improve on my ability to give enough information to keep people thinking, but not so much that it's all given away.

*Incidentally, that fic is linked in my profile as well

* * *

_Review Replies_

_Ogro: [After I explain that "Red Rose" does not equal "Evil"] I guess you're right about Haru. But then, why are the Avatar and his friends fighting for the Earth King?_ Differing opinions, really. Haru, along with most of the other Red Roses, saw Kuei as someone trying to dominate the whole of the Earth Kingdom, just like the Fire Nation. The only difference was that the Earth King was using centuries-old history to "justify" his acts, while it should have been quite obvious to EVERYBODY, in the opinion of most Red Roses, that Kuei didn't have to right to retake control control when the Earth Kingdom had been fragmented for generations on end. It wasn't centralized anymore, and Kuei had no right to change that. The Gaang, on the other hand, had most likely come to the conclusion that a single hand was needed for the whole Earth Kingdom, in order to keep it in order. Further, it's not like Kuei actually was all that tyrannical. Had the western city-states not been roused by demagogues like Chan (though some honestly feared for their cities, but just happened to be a tad too afraid for their own good), then it's probable that the conflict would have been smaller, shorter, and less supported by the Red Roses.

_[In the Nini's Book teaser] That spirit that was with Nini, was it a fox or a wolf?_ I don't remember. A wolf, though it might be more accurate to say that Hidama is a fire-spirit who takes the FORM of a wolf. He can change his shape as easily as smoke, but merely prefers to appear as a wolf (except in those situations when he's trying to seduce a young woman who is-- quite understandably-- not all that turned on by a WOLF).

_I'm glad that, in your Nini teaser, things get somewhat better for her (in the fact that she found a young girl to raise), but it's depressing how Toph doesn't want to see her friends anymore. _Like she said, she's tired. Out of her surviving friends, every single one of them is like a big fat walking reminder of everything she's had to deal with. She just wants to be in a place where she can forget about all that, forget that there was ever anything at all beyond the Bei Fong estate and the little girl she took off the streets.

_Yi Ming is the Combustion Man, right?_ No. Combustion Man died in the series. The "Third Eye" thing, however, IS a connection between the two.

_It was strange seeing Xin Fu as part of the Dai Li, on Zuko's side. He's gotten very powerful - it IS the same earthbender that was pursuing Toph in the show, right? It's hard to tell sometimes with the reuse of names in your stories..._ Sorry about that, but yes. I've retconned him into being the same Xin Fu. Shadow Wasserson and I think it's rather appropriate, somehow.

_...how's [Ty Lee] been in this war?_ Ty Lee has been... Ty Lee. She stuck primarily on Kyoshi Island, along with Suki, and considering that this chapter ends the war, I don't suppose that it'll spoil anything by saying that they both survive past the end, as well as Jojo (remember her? the Sukka kid? no? really? are you just joking? oh...). Suki doesn't live long enough to make it into _All the Myriad Faces_, but Ty Lee does, along with a few other characters you should recognize. But you'll have to be attentive. Look closely at how characters appear and act. You might find a major character appearing in a single scene as an old cabbage merchant, you know... (and now, if there's ever a fic in this universe set during The War, that cabbage merchant has to be a major character... perhaps the EK cabbage-obsessed version of Sokka, what with the lack of Bending and all...)

_Walker of the Wheel: I'm still trying to figure out what Zuko learned after his initiation into the White Lotus that set this whole arc in motion._ Oh, Mr Walker, you have got NO idea... No idea how big it is, and no idea how obvious it is. Well, obvious so long as you obsessively read over and over everything I've posted so far. But let me tell you this: It is completely possible to figure out the events of eleven centuries ago, as well as the major events of the next three books, by obsessing over THIS book. All the information you need is here. Just very, very, VERY hidden.

_The earth kingdom is historically a confederacy or commonwealth (Omashu, Kyoshi, Ba Sing Sei, all have their own aristocracy/nobility/adminstration)._ Yes and no. It's kinda yo-yo'd back and forth for a few thousand years. The general pattern is kinda like this: (1) EK is (re)unified. (2) EK spreads if there is room. (3) Outer fringes of EK begin to split off, being protected from retaliation by the sheer distances between them and Ba Sing Se. (4) Over the course of centuries, the rest of the EK eventually follows suit, and the process is quickened as Ba Sing Se agrees to allow them unchallenged autonomy in exchange for certain things (most of the times that this happens, for example, Ba Sing Se has control over the EK military if there's an outside invasion). (5) A massively massive disaster occurs, and as the EK attempts to recover from it, Ba Sing Se is able to exert its will over all the rest of the (significantly damaged) EK. Given that the Earth Kingdom has, in one form or another, existed for thousands upon thousands of years, this cycle has repeated a great many times, ever since the first Earthbenders left the caverns of Ba Sing Se.

_Shadow Wasserson: I was half-expecting Mai to come to Zuko's rescue in the end. She doesn't seem to be the type to sit out a battle for no good reason. _Two main reasons, both of which stem from Mai's realization that if Zuko isn't able to survive the fight, then she isn't going to be of much help, skilled though she might be. Reason #1 is more or less sentimental-- Zuko doesn't want his children to grow up without their mother, like he did. Reason #2 is much more practical, and EXTREMELY important-- If Zuko dies, then the crown is going to get passed down to Azariya. Azariya, however, is still too young to rule, meaning that for the time being another regent would be appointed. Iroh? He was taken out of the Royal Palace before the attackers could reach him, so yes. And how many days would it be until he was unable to stop getting sick long enough to just sign a new decree, let alone READ it? So it would be Mai, who could be counted on to hand the crown over once Azariya was of age, or another Minister, who could have decided that he LIKED being regent, and then you've got a civil war (or a poisoned Azariya), and THAT isn't good, either. For the good of both her children and the Fire Nation as a whole, Mai HAD to go.

_Points: _128 (22 till next clue)

Five chapters to go... After this chappie, we've got another time skip, and you get to see the long-term effects of the Red Rose War on Aang.

75% of you think that Zuko is corrupt, and trying to take over the world. The other 25% of you think that Zuko IS trying to take over the world, but only to defeat the other group that appeared in the last chapter.

While I'm quite glad that everybody is still split, I'd like to know everybody's reasoning behind their personal choices. And there is, again, another poll on my profile asking what you think of Zuko after this chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter Ten: The Butcher and the General**

_Water Year 1108_

_Capital City, The Fire Nation_

"What troubles you, nephew?" Iroh said in a low voice. He groaned as he readjusted his position in the bed.

"You've got only a little while longer to live, uncle," he responded as he pulled over a chair and sat down. "The physician said that you could die any day now."

"Do not feel sorrow for me, Zuko. This life has been harsh to me, in many ways, but there has always, _always_ been tea."

"Still going on about the tea," Zuko smiled.

"Of _course_. What would life be without tea? But I've lived a good life, and when I am gone, I will finally be reunited with my wife, and with my son."

"But I can't _handle_ this, Uncle Iroh. How am I supposed to run the Order of the White Lotus?"

Iroh shook his head. "You already have been doing a _fine_ job, nephew. You do not need my guidance any longer."

"But what if I make a mistake? If I make a single error, it could spell the end of... of all my work. And so much more. Centuries. Keeping the world in balance... How can you possibly expect me even to _sleep_ with that sort of pressure?"

"I will say it again: You have been doing a _fine_ job. You have brought the Dai Li into the fold, gaining the use of their talents while securing their loyalty, for what higher master can they possibly serve?"

"The Avatar."

Iroh nodded. "Possibly. If the Avatar will accept them, that is certainly a possibility. But the Avatar will first have to be in a position of authority, and will have to seek them out. Your descendants will have _plenty_ of warning before the Dai Li even consider abandoning them. Besides… in time, you will be able to reform them. Perhaps not the current Dai Li, but the order itself will certainly change for the better, if you make the effort to change it."

"I'm still worried."

"_Don't_. Remember what I told you a few years ago? You're smarter than you think you are. Give yourself a little bit of credit. What happened a few days ago, Zuko? Was the Royal Palace invaded by servants of the Heavenly Emperor?"

"Yes."

"And who was it that, with the aid of only a single agent of the Dai Li, killed them?"

"I did, but—"

"But _nothing_, Zuko. Even in my prime, I would have been barely capable of handling _half_ as many as you did, and what did you get out of it? A few marks."

Zuko couldn't help but give a smile at that. It was perhaps the greatest understatement he'd ever heard in his life. With the exception of a patch of skin along part of his hand, and three fingers, there wasn't a single bit of skin on the right side of his body which wasn't just as burnt as his left eye. He felt like a massive, walking, burn scar.

"You, Zuko, are the _Fire Lord_. And you have received a duty greater than any other you could possibly have received. For you are not just the Fire Lord but, upon my passing, the Grandmaster of the Order of the White Lotus. You are the guardian of a tradition and responsibility more than a thousand years old, and I _know_ that you will make me proud, Zuko."

Iroh gasped as a short pain shocked through him, and then settled back into his previous position.

"I don't know if I can fulfill my duty," Zuko told him.

"This isn't just about your competence, is it, Zuko?"

He shook his head. "I'm losing my… Since I…"

Iroh smiled. "You will know what to do, Zuko. Remember: There is balance, and then there is _balance_. I trust that you will make the right decision. And remember, always remember, that there is tea. So long as there is tea, everything is fine." With that, Iroh closed his eyes, and Zuko watched him for a very long time, until, at some point, he noticed that Iroh had ceased breathing.

Zuko blinked in surprise when he saw this, and then blinked again when he realized that he wasn't reacting as he thought he would. He was still sitting in the seat, watching Iroh, and not a tear was being shed.

"Yi Ming had said that the war was going to end that day. I told him that he was wrong, but now I think that he merely got the date off by a week." Zuko paused. "I know what I need to do, uncle."

He stood up, and began to walk out of the room, where he would first find a servant to inform them of Iroh's death, and then continue on to his own room, where he would take out a piece of parchment, a Cat Owl quill, and an inkwell.

"Aang has to be told. This war needs to end."

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Plains of Tianming, The Earth Kingdom (Red Rose territory)_

A month has passed, and this is proving to be the bloodiest battle of the war.

Aang received Zuko's letter, and it explained everything. Who was behind the war, why it was started, and (most importantly) what needed to be done in order to end it. General Chung, ex-member of the Council of Five, had always been known to be a cunning strategist, and the sort of man who could get thousands of people to kill and die for him. He possessed a charismatic aura that reminded some of Chin the Conqueror, though it was arguable how intelligent he was— while he certainly wasn't the greatest tactical mind, he was also well aware of his limits, something that cost Chin more than a few battles and, ultimately, his life.

General Chung had formed the Army of the Red Rose before starting the war, and still was the only thing holding the Red Rose Army together. Without him, they would fracture. And Zuko had informed him of the general's next few planned attacks. The army Aang was heading had been put together in just over a week, with a respectable amount more having come simply from whatever friendly forces they encountered on their way. And so, as with the beginning, so it is with the end. The war comes full circle, and turns round and round.

---

Even before the two armies crashed together, Aang was able to pick out the white helmet General Chung wore, and he made a bumblebearline toward it, plowing through troops of both sides to reach the general. He lapsed back into the sort of utter and total concentration he was falling under more and more frequently, giving no notice at all to the fact that he'd already killed three Roses and leapt over a greencap when they'd gotten in his way. What _did_ almost snap him out of his focus was the general's appearance: His features were well-rounded, without a single edge to them, and altogether he looked little like someone who would start a war, especially for the reasons he did, and this had carried over into his reputation— even a month later, Aang was still surprised to discover from Zuko that General Chung had masterminded the war from the very beginning, in order to seize control from the Earth King. It was rather depressing to learn that his soldiers had been duped into fighting for the very same end that they thought they were opposing.

Aang had nearly made contact with the general in the form of an air-knife before Chung suddenly turned around and _blocked _it, something which Aang was surprised hadn't happened before, since all the knives needed was a sufficient blow of air from another source to move them off-course. But he had always made sure to take into account such movements, and he hadn't counted on Chung noticing— Aang flipped back as Chung pounced forward, slashing at Aang with the pair of sickles he was holding.

Kicking off a blast of flame, Aang rolled backwards a few feet and then pushed himself into the air with his arms. He spun slightly, throwing another blade of compressed air and then following it, racing towards Chung. The general twisted out of the way, barely getting scratched by the air-knife, and swung at Aang, the blades dangerously close as Aang tried to move out of the way— even a hair closer and his throat would have been cut. He instantly regretted not wearing any armor, but he wouldn't have been able to move how he needed to (though if _Chung_ could move that well, then maybe a small degree of armor would not be out of the question).

Fire spills from Aang's hands as he resumes the assault, trying to get a blow in but having to pull back or get cut off at the wrist by Chung's sickles. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, dodging each of Chung's blows almost effortlessly as he feels the general's vibrations, and then he exhales, filling the air with flame, but Chung had already flipped backwards, getting scorched only at the edges of his clothes. Aang steps to the side, avoiding a blow from another Rose, and stabs the soldier in the side before he races toward Chung, who stands waiting for the Avatar.

Chung fakes a blow to the right and then shifts suddenly to his left, slicing cleanly through a bit of Aang's leg, but the Avatar has suffered worse— though he makes sure not to use too much power now— and ignores the pain, kicking Chung away and there's a sizzling black mark where his foot came in contact with the general's armor. He bends down and scoops up a bit of dirt with each hand, compressing it and forming stone blades, all in one fluid motion as he takes the three steps between the general and himself.

There's a clanging as the sickles meet stone, and Aang wishes that Toph had taught him how to Metalbend. Chung catches Aang's hands with one of his sickles for a brief moment, but that's all he needs as he spins around and past Aang's kick to sink the blade into Aang's stomach, just as Aang knocks him down with an elbow blow.

Aang is forced to favor his left side right now, and presses a hand to the wound on his stomach as he sets it afire, biting down on a small yell in the moment it takes to cauterize the wound— it's an imperfect job, at best, and Aang probably shouldn't even be doing it the way he is, but he doesn't want to bleed himself to death when there are so many other more interesting ways to die.

---

_Water Year 1108_

_Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (Loyalist / Greencap territory)_

It's actually over, Aang realizes as Appa touches down at the Northern Air Temple. All the fighting, and the killing, is finally _over_. Till it starts up again (it will, of course, even if he doesn't experience it until his next life), but even this brief respite is treasured. One of the monks comes rushing out almost the instant Aang begins to slide down Appa, and for once Aang doesn't have a single ounce of irritation to hide from himself. Things are finally turning up, and he hands his cloak over to the monk with a smile.

"Please take me to the Council of Elders," Aang says, and the other monk bows and leads him away, through twisting stone halls.

Walking into the Council Room, he saw that they were already waiting for him, but that was a given. Any time there was half of a chance that Aang could be coming, you could count on the five Elders being close enough to the Council Room to assemble within minutes, just in case he wanted to see them.

For the first time (and only time), Aang bowed low before the Council. It wasn't required of him, for he was of course the _Avatar_, but he didn't see why he couldn't do it today. Things were looking up, and not even seeing these fake monks could get him down today.

Hope is like a wave, capable of carrying you so very high.

"The war is over, Elders," Aang said. "You've probably heard already, but I have killed General Chung." The wounds on his body were testament to how hard it had been to do. The scars littering his body were still fresh, for Aang had taken off as soon as his wounds were healed enough that he could survive the trip, and the Elders had all taken note of the slight limp in his right leg. "The war is finally over."

"So the rest of them have given up?" asked one of the Elders, an old woman with graying hair, on the far-right side.

"We managed to get the rest of his forces to surrender after his death, and the Council of Five is confident that, without General Chung, the rest of the Red Rose Army will begin to fragment. At the higher levels, much was held together only by his personality, and direct interference. Without someone to provide a common set of goals and directions, everyone with more than a handful of troops under their command will begin drawing lines in the sand."

"How much longer do you—" another of them began to say, but the Elder in the center cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Enough of that," he said, and bowed his head before rising and moving toward Aang. "I'll bring you to your son myself, Avatar Aang."

"Thank you. It's been awhile."

"He's been doing quite well in his lessons, Avatar Aang. Your son is very bright."

"Will he be in the middle of anything right now?" Aang asked.

"No. He's usually up on the balcony near his room at around this time," the Elder answered, and he took another turn.

It wasn't long before they reached the balcony, seven or eight minutes at the most, and there his son was, playing a game of Pai Sho against another one of the monks. It struck him quite suddenly to be eerily reminiscent of the games he'd play with Gyatso.

Aang walked up quickly to his son and knelt down. "Hello. Do you know who I am?"

The boy turned his head, having been previously so drawn into the game that he hadn't even noticed Aang coming toward him. "Of— of course. You're the Avatar." He stood up and gave a quick bow. "I'll leave you to talk to Monk Pao, Avatar Aang." So respectful, even at such a young age.

"I didn't come to speak to Monk Pao."

"Then who?"

"Yourself, of course," Aang responds, and an idea, a realization, beings to unfurl within his head. "How have you been doing?"

"Very good, Avatar Aang. Monk Pao has been teaching me how to play Pai Sho. He says I've very good at it."

"There's something I'd like to tell you," Aang tells the boy, and then he stops for a moment. There're still going to be battles, in the months to come, possibly the years. There's still no guarantee that he'll live. But he continues, even if his purpose is drastically changed. "Have you ever wondered about your parents?"

Hope is like a wave, and the higher it brings you, the farther you have to crash down when you realize it's false.

His son nods quickly. "Yes. Monk Pao says that they're in a war. I get scared for them sometimes, but Monk Pao says not to worry, that they'll be coming home soon."

And what kind of life would it be for the son of the Avatar? What was he going to be throwing his son into? How much time would he have for the child? He still needed to find the Air Nomads, among a hundred other things. "Your parents are coming home." But Katara wouldn't… Aang shakes his head, and decides. "I don't know _exactly _when they'll be here, but I thought you might like to know that."

The boy brightens noticeably, even as happy as he seemed before. "Thank you, Avatar Aang." That's all his son would have referred to him as. He never would have been able to get it out of his head. How would his son be able to really look at him as anything but the Avatar? This was for the best, he told himself as he rose up, but he felt as if he wasn't entirely moving of his own accord.

The crash is even worse when you know that it's your own fault.

Aang walked back to the Elder. "Who were the candidates you'd chosen, in the event that he needed a new set of parents?"

"Dig and Yugoka. They became close friends a few years after The War, and they agreed to take on responsibility for your son if it was necessary."

He tried out the names on his tongue. "Isn't Dig a Fire Nation name?"

"Yes. The Fire Nation is the most…" The Elder struggled for the right word. "The most diverse, since they've interbred with just about everybody. Dig has just the right look to him, and the fact that the foster mother would be of the Water Tribe was even better."

"Of course. That makes sense." Aang shrugged. "Send word for them at once. I'd like to thank them, and then I'll need to resume my duties. There's still the mop-up, and the search for the Air Nomads, and I heard that there have been some strange happenings in Gaipan, so…" and Aang continued on as he walked through the halls, trying to make himself forget what he'd just done.

---

Avatar. Monk. Fourth General. Husband. The Last Airbender. Commander of the Raiders. Butcher of Te Kuan. Monster. Savior. _Avatar_.

Aang has had many titles, and been called many things.

But it seems that "Father" will not be one of them.

"_The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided. But with the Avatar's help we can get it back on the right path, and begin a new era of love and peace!"_

—_Zuko_

**End of Part Two

* * *

A/N **The "Bumblebear" line is taken from a strip of the comic "Cyanide and Happiness." Link is in my profile. I certainly don't intend on bumblebears being actual animals in the Avatarverse (unless someone really wants me to) but I imagine that they're basically the jackalopes of the this world, in that people tell stories about them but nobody really believes they exist.

Jackalopes, incidentally, are something I've desperately searching for a way to introduce as actual Avatar animals.

**A/N** Does anyone know where I can find some transcripts for anime series?

**A/N** There's a very, very, VERY important clue in one of the names/terms/titles. Te Kuan, Tianming, Gaipan... Perhaps even "Fourth General." Plug 'em into a search engine one by one, and eventually, you'll find something rather interesting, and even get a clue as to an important event of Avatar Hahn's time.

**A/N** Does anybody read these? XD


	12. Landing at the Temple

_Theories_

_Ogro _has advanced the theory that Ta Min and Katara were both incarnations of the Companion pattern-type, based on the close relationship they had with the Avatar, and a seeming physical resemblance between the two.

He also has speculated that the masks are somehow a by-product of the act of face-stealing. They will also prove the means of saving the people whose faces Koh has stolen, meaning that we might see Ummi again. And, perhaps, Toph's pattern-type might be resolved by this act, as Ummi's fate was what set it in motion.

Mr. Ogro wondered briefly, during a conversation with me, if Hidama might be of mixed ancestry, having both humans and spirits in his ancestry. Within this series, spirits can certainly interbreed with mere mortals, so it's certainly possible. Is it PLAUSIBLE, though? I'll leave that up to you folks to decide.

_Shadow Wasserson_ believes that the masks in the Air Temples are representative of Koh's faces, but has no further ideas on the matter.

Shadow also speculates that the Dai Li killed Master Piandao and Fire Sage Shyu.

As far as the narrator goes, Shadow Wasserson briefly brought up the possibility of Wan Shi Tong, He Who Knows 10,000 Things, but soon after discarded it, deciding that Wan Shi Tong wouldn't narrate the story with this particular "flavor."

_Walker of the Wheel_ believes that Zuko has realized a critical flaw in the Avatar Cycle: All that power lies in the hands of a mortal and fallible human. On the other hand, Walker says, Zuko may simply have been trying to remove Aang from the equation, which is (to Walker) rather justifiable. You can't have a near-insane Avatar running around, after all. The concept of removing the Cycle, also, seems to conflict with the concept of historical cycles as it exists in this story, but as I told Walker, there are cycles within cycles within cycles, and it remains to be seen if the Avatar Cycle is simply part of a greater whole.

Further, Walker (and _Alyx the Dark Wanderer_, too) believes that Zuko shares his pattern-type with Sozin, as opposed to Roku, due not just to the patterns cropping up with both Zuko and Sozin, but also the (very good) point that AANG has Roku's pattern-type.

The Air Nomads, Walker says, are not going to recover at any point in the series. Rather, the series is going to focus more on Zuko's attempts (and, later, his descendants' attempts) to figure out a substitute for the Avatar Cycle.

As for the masks in the Air Temples, Walker believes that the owl represents a guru of some sort, while the abstract is either Tian the air spirit, as Aang suspects, or the god worshiped by the Cult of the Heavenly Emperor. As for the Heavenly Emperor, Walker says that he managed to conquer the entire world at some point in the past (or at least a significant portion of it), and the Cult is comprised of those who still follow him. The whole Red Rose War was possibly just an attempt to root them out and destroy them once and for all, though it's likely that there are other reasons as well.

Walker has compared the situation to the Three Kingdoms period of China, if that's of any help to you. Later on, he then decided that it was more along the lines of all of Southeastern Asia. Kyoshi Island is like Taiwan, the Fire Nation is like Mongolia or Japan, and the Water Tribes are like Korea and various small islands. Chin the Conqueror is King Zheng of Qin, or CHIN(!!!), or Shi Huangi, the FIRST EMPEROR. If the Fire Nation is Mongolia, which is an especially tempting possibility to Walker because Mongolia controlled China for a time (and China is now compared to the Earth Kingdom), and this would make Chinggis/Genghis connect to Sozin, and Khubilai/Khublai connect to Ozai.

In light of this, especially the Chin the Conqueror bit, Walker believes it highly possible that Chin the Conqueror is the "Heavenly Emperor" revered by the Cult of the Third Eye / Cult of the Heavenly Emperor.

Mr. Walker also suggests that somebody make a school course retelling _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ in the context of Southeastern Asia. Or perhaps it was the other way around...

The Earth Kingdom itself, according to Walker, has historically been a confederacy/commonwealth, and Kuei's attempt to unite it may have unbalanced the world to an extent. After all, when Chin did that, Avatar Kyoshi shut him down like nobody's business.

Oh, and Malu the Ghost-Witch was killed by a Dai Li (as opposed to having simply slipped by accident) because, as he said, "[We] Can't have surviving air nomads if we're going to break the cycle."

Finally, Walker suspects that Energybending has yet to play out its full usefulness.

I will also confirm here Walker's suspicion that the world is older than the characters believe. It is FAR older, and there is a great amount of history forever forgotten, but which continues to echo down through the ages. Events thousands of years ago have lead directly to the events of eleven centuries ago, which in turn lead to the events of the present time. In a way, all this had already happened millennia ago, and the physical effects had simply not manifested yet. Consider that a free clue. I'll even put it up on my profile, since it's rather clear enough for one or two sentences, and actually makes sense.

Might it turn out that, in the end, nobody really had any free will, but that the course history was taking was already too far determined for them to make a difference?

PS. Don't forget! There are also theories listed in "Hitting the Ground," too.  
_

* * *

_

_Review Replies:_

_Susii Pie: What I'm somewhat confused about is why did Zuko stop the war? General Chung isn't the man behind it as much as Zuko right? _Zuko ended it because he had a bit of a crisis of faith. If he was going to continue the war, he absolutely needed to kill Aang. And he realized, finally, that he had to stop fooling himself about this, and that there was no way this could be changed. So, did he end the war because he was corrupt, but not so much that he could truly deal with killing Aang? Or was the war being fought for a good reason, but he wasn't resolute enough to persevere? General Chung was always just a patsy, by the way. A public figurehead for the Red Roses, and Zuko's main guy through which to manipulate the Red Roses.

_What did the war accomplish then?_ It depends on what you think his goals really were. If it was to conquer the world, for example, then while he didn't quite conquer it, he made sure that the Fire Colonies were going to remain under his control (see the new map, by the way). Further, the Southern Water Tribe has been broken, and is absolutely never ever ever going to rebuild Maniyok. So while they may be the sort of people who will be well-equiped to run a guerilla war in the future, they aren't going to have such a big fortress of a city to hide within, like the Northern Water Tribe. While THAT tribe has lost a considerable portion of its navy, when the greatfleets were devastated during the Red Rose War. And there's some considerable anger towards the Earth King, in the western provinces. Think about what the South would have done if, in the years immediately following the War Between the States, another country with enough power to challenge America had stepped in and said: "Hey, if you're willing to rebel again, we'll be able to help you." Or, really, ANY losing side in a civil war. The Fire Nation is going to have supporters from the get-go, now.

If his aim was to conquer the world, that is. I will neither confirm nor deny the theory that Zuko wanted to conquer the world.

_Ogro: Hm, I didn't find anything relevant in the search terms. The only thing was Tianming, which means "mandate of heaven." Other than that, nothing made sense. The only thing I could find for Gaipan was some sort of dish and the canonical take of it - the flooded village which was saved by Sokka. I... don't see any connection._ Perhaps "mandate of heaven" has something to do with the story? And did you search for "Fourth General," Mr. Ogro? There's some very interesting information there, as least with Yahoo!Search.

_Again, don't be afraid to make up some of your own names. Soo many people are bound to think of the little boy's new foster mother as that old, Northern Water Tribe healer._ Well, it got changed slightly when you edited it, and I think that the name change, plus the fact that Yugoka has to be young enough to pass as the boy's mother, would be enough. If not... Yugoka is someone different.

_Zuko's new look reminds me of Emperor Palpatine .; Is that... intended?_ Hmm... Is this another subtle hint that Zuko really is the Big Bad of this series? I had someone else, however, who noticed that looked like a sort of Yin-Yang type thing. On one side, there's mostly unburnt flesh, with a burn around his eye, while on the other side, it's mostly burns, with some unburnt flesh around his hand. So this would make it seem like a bit of a manifestation of that whole "balance" thing that Zuko is going on about. But that could easily be coincidence. Or it could be both. Or neither.

_Shadow Wasserson: The narrator... hm. Wan Shi Tong would know it all, but it doesn't sound like his voice. I could be wrong, though._ Hmm...

_I still wonder who these monks are... they don't feel like the Mechanist's people... _Some of them are The Mechanist's people (well, descendants of The Mechanist's people by now), but there are a lot of people who just gradually began moving into the Air Temples. Ascetics, refugees, people who were already nomads and just slowly began to integrate with the traveling monks, &c, &c.

_Review Points: _143 (7 points left)

* * *

If you're the sort of person who listens to music while reading, I suggest _Nowhere Man_, by the Beatles, for the next few chapters. Or Sarah McLachan's cover of _Song for a Winter's Night_. Until you get to Walking Through the Halls, at which point I suggest turning on Song for a Winter's Night, if you haven't been done so already, but getting ready to switch to RedFearTV's remix of _This Is Halloween_ when Aang's chest begins aching.

Links are on my profile.

Oh, and I feel I should compliment Walker of the Wheel once more, for deducing that a member of the Order of the White Lotus was leading the Red Roses, even if he didn't quite realize that nobody in the OWL had turned traitor to do so.

By the way, had anybody caught that there's a Red Rose tile in Pai Sho?

* * *

**Part Three: As the Winds Die Down**

"_I can't believe a year ago I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world's so different now."_

—_Aang_

Back again?

Well, then... It's been a few years...

**Chapter Eleven: Landing at the Temple**

_Water Year 1153_

_Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (province of Ba Sing Se)_

Were you to have no idea of the date this was taking place, nor any knowledge of what had happened to the Air Nomads, it would be very easy to mistake this man on the Sky Bison as man named Gyatso, who was a monk, who was an Air Nomad. Who is dead.

The resemblance is almost spot-on, with just a small error in the shape of the head. Even his mustache is exactly like Gyatso's. But from the moment the old man gets off his Sky Bison, it would be obvious to anyone who knew Gyatso that this is someone else entirely. There's a heavy amount of sorrow weighing him down, and so very little of the playfulness and joviality that Gyatso was known for. The man walks along, barely aware of his surroundings, too absorbed— too _trapped_— in his own thoughts.

You'd never have known that it was Aang either, though, from just looking at him.

---

This was the last attempt that Aang would ever make to find a trace of the Air Nomads. Every lead turned into a dead end, and by now he wonders if people even realize that the gust-blown fools who dare to call themselves "Air Nomads" are anything but. To the world, they act like Air Nomads, talk like them, eat like them, even _walk_ like them. The only thing missing is the Airbending, and it's not like _that_ is important, right? Let's just forget that the Avatar Cycle will fall apart without _real_ Air Nomads. Let's just forget Aang's successor won't be able to perform a lick of Airbending if there's nobody to teach him. Let's forget _all_ of that.

After all, the Air Nomads are coming to town next week, and I hear that they've got some really strange items to trade.

Does anybody even _care_?

But Aang doesn't answer that question. He got through so many years of warfare with the Army of the Red Rose by not acknowledging how it made him feel, when he was _killing people_. How many times had Aang taken a life? He'd lost count, and the closest thing to letting himself realize how it was tearing him apart was the nausea he'd feel after the rush had gone, once he'd gotten a chance to finally stop (but you can't stop, because stopping gets you killed, remember? and even now he can't forget the lessons which he had learned...). He'd see the blood and the broken bodies, and smell the death in the air, and lose whatever he'd eaten that day, and never really understand why, until years after the war had ended.

The resentment toward these inheritors of his people's culture seethes, but he does not allow himself to know this. It boils, but rather than removing the lid, so that it the heat may escape, he holds it down even tighter, and so the only person who is hurt is himself, as the heat scalds his hand. And he does not understand this. Aang is not even aware that his hand is being burnt.

Who is the most fortunate among the two: Toph, who is aware of her pain, though not of its cause, or Aang, who is aware of neither, but feels it all the same, and dies all the slower and more agonizingly for it? Does it still hurt, when you don't feel the pain?

---

The monks and nuns of the Temple pretend to ignore him as he passes by, having finally realized how much the open adoration and obsession irritates him, but he knows that if he turned out fast enough, he'd catch them staring at him all the same. Aang walks on aimlessly, turning corners at randomly and occasionally doubling back. He's so _tired_, but he'll never be ale to get any rest today until he's _physically _tired as well. Exhausted. He walks with a small limp, but whether it's as subtle as it seems, or people just don't draw attention to it, he doesn't know.

Aang passes by an open door, and takes a moment to look in. He's always just an observer, a spook, a shadow, until someone has such a great problem that they're willing to track him down and ask him about it. Few do, except for when that insufferable Council of Elders (how _dare_ they consider themselves to be such! is something he doesn't know he thinks, but he feels it all the same, even if he doesn't let himself know _that_, either) is concerned for his health. The battle with General Chung has hurt him severely, and the medication he took for the pain had increased to dangerously high levels. It was quite possible that he'd die from the drugs one of these days, when the doses grew too powerful for his body to cope with.

The room is full of young children, listening more or less attentively (how attentive can a group of eight-to-ten year-old child be, after all?) to their teacher, a woman he's talked to quite a few times over the years. Her name is Malu, and because of a coincidental wind many decades ago, he'd once thought she was an Airbender. Even when she couldn't perform any Bending when he asked her later on, he continued to teach her, reasoning that she was young, and so might have a hard time of performing Airbending again. It would be several months before he finally abandoned hope, after seeing a small rock nearby react to the form he was teaching her.

But though Malu wasn't capable of Airbending, she had for some reason become obsessed with the forms he'd been teaching her. Over the years, she'd request lessons from him, and though she had learned _very _slowly, she'd begun to implement the Air Nomad style into her Earthbending. She was as much of an Airbender as the now-defunct Dai Li were Firebenders. Perhaps not in capability, but definitely in mentality. She'd taken on a few students of her own over the years, teaching them how to work the earth for misdirection, evasion, and other more indirect purposes than the typically head-on in-your-face never-let-up style of Earthbending practiced by everybody else. She and her students would have been the only ones he was truly glad to see take upon the name "Air Nomads," but they were also the only ones who sensed his underlying anger, and so out of respect (_respect_, not adoration- oh Tian, some days that alone was enough to keep him happy) they refused call themselves as such.

Aang wonders if he's just some sort of cosmic plaything, to be manipulated this way and that, for the sick amusement of an audience which had been given awareness of his every action. His life is more irony than his blood, and he _hates_ puns with a passion he otherwise reserves for only sea prunes (and ocean kumquats).

Malu notices him standing by the doorway, and acknowledges his presence with a quick smile before directing her focus back to the children. The four Air Temples take in parentless children when there's room, but a fair number are "native," so to speak. The Air Nomads of old were never celibate, which is something that, for some reason, surprised many when they learn this. All the Air Nomads, once their age became a physical burden, would simply go to one of the Air Temples to live out the remainder of their lives. The Temples had, in fact, originally risen up around more permanent camps set up specifically so that the old could be spared the stresses of a fully nomadic life. The "nomadic" aspect of it, though, had since become a secondary aspect of their existence, and most now lived— and loved— within the walls of the Temples.

He watches Malu teach the children for a few more minutes, and then moves on. He had already lived through the Red Rose War. He didn't need to hear about it again... Is it just him, though. or did they put the date ten years early?

---

Ah, well... It didn't matter.

Once upon a time, he would have gone to the Sanctuary, to stare at the masks and hear the whispers at the edges of his mind until he eventually collapsed, trapped in his thoughts until someone came in and snapped him out of it, reminding him that there was a world outside his mind. But what point was there to it now? He had to concentrate on other matters. He couldn't just waste the rest of his life looking for something that wasn't there.

Aang suddenly jolts, and slams against the wall, coughing so hard that he's surprised that there isn't any blood in his spittle. He slows sinks to the ground, sitting there, hacking himself half to death in an empty hallway, until eventually it subsides. Aang remains for much longer still, though, panting heavily. These attacks had been becoming more and more common, but there was nothing he could do about it. They were a side effect of one of the drugs he was taking. Something like an allergy of some sort, but it was either enduring an attack every week or so (perhaps twice a week now, if they kept up at this rate) or enduring the constant pain which would wrack his entire body.

He didn't know why he kept on doing this; walking along in empty halls, stumbling and coughing and wondering how long it had been— it could have been four minutes or four hours since he'd seen Malu.

Aang had a son somewhere in this Temple. He'd been somewhere in his fifties now, if Aang was doing his math right. He could remember it so clearly, when Zuko had told him that the inter-Bending couples didn't breed true. Just regular people, with mismatched features, looking half-and-half and such, as you'd expect, but not a shred of Bending potential. Now _that _would be an interesting method for the next genocidal maniac to use. Just send over as many Benders as you can spare, and make sure they get involved with the other side's Benders. So long as you're breeding reinforcements faster than they are, you'll still have Benders, and they'll have nothing.

Aang wondered which nation a child the Avatar Spirit would consider the child as belonging to, if it had parents of two different nations.

His son was incapable of Airbending.

Aang shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all the flotsam that was piling up and making it hard to think.

—He didn't recognize this hall of the Temple. Where was he?—

Aang took out a scroll from an inner pocket of his robe, and let it unfurl. It was an Airbending scroll which he'd found a few years ago. The only tangible result of_ decades _of searching. Every other last scrap of the Air Nomads seemed to have been destroyed (or hidden away forever within the library of Wan Shi Tong, if you had to be exact about things). Even _this_ wasn't, to be technical, able to be considered the fruits of any labors of his. _Zuko _found it, somewhere in the Dragonbone Catacombs.

Everything else had been scorched away, by the fires that had destroyed his people.

He leaned against the wall and studied the movements, going over the illustrations again and again. It was an easy technique; Aang had mastered it by the time he was eight. But it was still one of the few traces left of the _real_ Air Nomads. It was important to him.

---

Some time later, Aang fell to the ground, slowly folding up as he slid down to the ground.

The monks found him a few minutes later, and he woke up in his bed. There was a brief moment in which he did nothing, and then he reached over for his drugs. He swallowed a pair of pills, and he fell asleep again soon after. He'd wake up once more in five hours, when the pain came back and made him feel like he was being impaled with red-hot knives until he managed to gather the strength to reach for the pills again. Though sometimes he was unable to, and he'd lie there in bed for hours, the pain so agonizing and his breath so short that he was even less capable of screaming out for help than he was of reaching for the pills just a foot away from his bed.

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**A/N **There's another poll on my profile. If you know anything about Code Geass and Death Note, _please_ take the poll.


	13. A Conversation with Appa

_Review Replies_

_Susii Pie: Basically after the war, every things been fine again?_ It's certainly better than it was during the Red Rose War.

_What happened to Toph and Zuko? Or even his son?_ His son is a full Monk now. Zuko is Fire Lord, and Grandmaster of the White Lotus, and currently very busy with his grandchildren (and even a great-grandchild from Azariya's line). Toph is currently back at the Bei Fong Estate after several decades of wandering around. I imagine that she's kinda like Avatarverse!Zatoichi, with a bit of Tokugawa Mitsukuni mixed in. If you don't know who they are, go wiki them! Now!

_Ogro: You know, I'm a bit intrigued by Aang's new description in his old age. What a large resemblance to Gyatso! Is that important in any way?_ No, it's not. I just like the thought of Aang looking like Gyatso in his old age.

_Now... all the readers' theories that you brought up in the beginning... Were you confirming them all? That doesn't seem like you D: It makes me wonder, because your responses were very vague..._ No, not at all. The only thing I was confirming was Walker of the Wheel's suspicion that the world was a REALLY old. Everything else was posted simply so that readers could see the theories of other people without having to go through all the reviews.

_Shadow Wasserson: If the Airbenders really are gone, splat, with no way to bring them back (you know my thoughts on that matter from my own story), then the next Avatar is going to have some problems. _Oh, yes. Yes yes yes yes yes!

_Review Points: 149 (1 points left)_

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**Chapter Twelve: A Conversation with Appa**

_Water Year 1164_

_Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (province of Ba Sing Se)_

His internal clock was getting good, after all this time. He had just enough time after waking up to reach over and grab four or five pills (he couldn't care less about how many he took, so long as it worked) before the pain hit, and it would paralyze him for ten or twenty minutes before the pills began to work, and he could slip away into sleep once again. Only for the whole sequence to happen a second time before his sleep cycle was over— between the pain, and his regular fatigue, it took ten hours at the least for him to feel good enough to get out of bed, and he never did feel completely energized nowadays, no matter how long he spent sleeping.

After the second wave of pain subsided, Aang slowly got out of bed, trying to will away the phantom pains that he felt, even though the drugs were getting rid of the _real_ pain. He wondered if he'd ever be able to tell the difference as time went on, between the pain that was just in his head, and the pain that the drug was supposed to get rid of.

Not even the Waterbenders living at the Temple were able to help him. The best which could be done was already being done; taking care of the symptoms was all they could do. Aang wasn't complaining, though. So long as he didn't feel the pain, he was alright.

He walked slowly over to the desk situated close to his bed, sat down on the chair and scooted it in, and then reached over to the rack of scrolls on his right. He had realized, some months ago, that he would need to start recording everything down. Since then, he'd filled up around thirty scrolls, painstakingly putting down every last scrap of Air Nomad knowledge he had. Not a single bit of their history survived anywhere but in his head, and there was so much to be done. And what about the customs and ways of his people, and the techniques of Airbending?

Why couldn't he figure out what the masks meant? How much of the knowledge of his people had died without even the chance that Aang was providing some of the rest? All those lessons he had never really paid attention to…

Aang stumbled into the wall as a searing pain shot through his leg, as if someone had taken a butcher knife to it and chopped to the bone with one solid strike.

Panting slightly, he reached into an inner pocket of his robes and removed a handful of pills. He threw them into his mouth and chewed, ignoring the pain that came from his battered teeth— they were not meant to be chewed, but _swallowed_, and yet they worked so much faster (and deadlier, the physician warned him again and again) if he chewed them first— and ignoring the bitter taste, ignoring the fact that he wasn't supposed to take so many in one day, let alone in one minute. His physician was always telling him to stop taking them like fire gummies, but _really_, it wasn't as if _he _were the one having the deal with this.

Besides, even if it _did_ kill him one day, at least he wouldn't have to deal with the pain.

He gave a sigh of relief when he saw that there wasn't anybody on the balcony. It had always been Appa's favorite place to rest, and many times— even now— it wouldn't be surprising to see a few children here. But Aang wanted some quiet.

"How are you, Appa? Did Malu come by today?" Aang blinks, and then sits down on a stone bench, only a few feet from the massive figure of the Sky Bison. "The monks are getting kind of, oh, you know…They're beginning to grate on me a little bit. I just wish they'd leave me alone for a little while, but instead they're always bugging me, asking me for advice and telling me I need to get rest and all that."

Aang shrugged, and took a look at Appa. "Sometimes I wish that everything would just… _stop_. I feel like something's missing. Katara has to spend most of her time in Maniyok, and Toph hasn't come by since— well, okay, she's _never _come by. She doesn't even respond to any of my letters anymore, boy. At least there was a time when I could count on her training the Che Kof Benders— she was like an airship's machinery, always moving precisely and without a single deviation in her daily routine— and being able to catch her just as she was leaving, but she stopped all of a sudden. I never understood why she did it.

"I don't think so," he says again, after another imagined growl. "She went on for I don't know how many years, and then— _Snap!_ She hands over control to her first circle of students, for them to do with as they please, and vanishes. I heard that she had retired to the Bei Fong estate a few years ago, but... Toph doesn't talk to many people any longer. Just the head servant of the household, and only to tell them what instructions to give the other servants."

He pauses again, stands up, and paces about.

"I wish this wasn't all so hard. The world is at peace and all that, but… there's so much that seems… wrong. I can't get rid of the feeling that I'm doing this all wrong. I shouldn't even be here, talking to you, Appa! I should be back in my room, writing and writing and writing and… I _know_, Appa, but that doesn't make it any easier. I could die at any time, and what _then_? What's going to happen to the next Avatar if I don't get everything down?

"I'm having trouble remembering things, too. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, since I'm getting old, but then again… Airbenders live for a long time. Gyatso was older than I am now, and he didn't seem to have any issues. And I can't shake the feeling that this doesn't have anything to do with my age at all." Aang took a brief glance at Appa's form. "Why does everything seem to always come back to Azula killing me? I guess it's not all that strange, to think that getting _killed_ might have just, I don't know, messed up some stuff, but then again, I had thought that it had all gotten fixed up. The Avatar Cycle isn't broken, is it?

"I don't think it is, at any rate, but… what if it is?" Aang blinked, and pulled something out of his robes. "I'd nearly forgotten, Appa! Your apple! But everything seems to be jumbled around," he continued, after having placed the apple before Appa. "I _remember_, but it's hard to remember the _order_. And then there are things that seem foggy, and dance at the edges. There was something important about Maniyok that I can't quite remember. Some sort of battle, but— I don't know, Appa… Maybe just a scrap of conversation I had overheard in passing while in one of the camps. It must not have been too bad, since the city is still standing, and Katara is alright, but I just wish I could remember what it was.

"I feel so mixed up and stretched and blown _tired_." He leaned himself against Appa's unyielding form. "I miss being able to see Katara more often than this. I miss being able to sleep through the night instead of waking up twice every night to paralyzing pain, and not having to take so much medicine that everything has the same chalky taste to it, even if I haven't had any drugs for an hour— I miss being able to go for more than eighty minutes without the pain forcing me to take a pill, too." Aang sighed, and closed his eyes. "And I miss Toph. I wish she'd let me talk to—"

"Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!" called Ping, one of the monks in charge of the Temple (though they didn't seem to really be in control— they asked Aang for advice on nearly everything, even how to water and fertilize the Moon Peach trees).

Aang opened his eyes slowly. "Yes?"

"We've been looking all over for you for almost two hours. You should be resting in your room right now."

"I'd have thought that this would be the first place you'd send somebody."

"We did, but Malu said you weren't there."

Good old Malu. He'd have to thank her. "Why can't you people just leave me alone?"

"Because we don't want you to die," Ping said simply. "Now come on, Avatar Aang. Let's go back inside. Shoji is making up an excellent batch of pies, and they'll be fresh out of the oven by the time we reach the kitchens."

Aang sighed and let himself be led away.

Behind them, a fresh-picked apple sat among eight others, each one a little bit older than the last, moldy and rotting and slightly chewed by the occasional passing wildlife.

And looming above them was a massive statue of a long-dead Sky Bison.

Aang is the last remnant of the Air Nomad culture, and even these imitation monks will not revive it. All they can do, he believes, is mock the dead with every breath and step and word.

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**A/N** :insert maniacal laughter: How's _that _for downer ending? Well, the _story _isn't over, but the chapter... In case it's not entirely clear: Appa is dead, and Aang is delusional. He has got completely insane. Unfortunately, as you'll see in next week's chapter, this is completely normal for the Avatar.

(I accidentally typed "got" instead of "gone" somehow, but I rather like how it sounds. So it stays).

**A/N** New poll. Please take a moment to choose one of the options. It has to do with your preferred POV for a Batman/Cthulhu crossover I'm planning for the (far) future.


	14. The Butcher and the Fire Lord

_Review Points: 154 (46 points left)_

**Your Clue: **In the conflict between the Order of the White Lotus and the Cult of the Heavenly Emperor, neither side is entirely in the right. Alternatively, neither side is as wrong and/or corrupt as their adversaries think.

**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: The Butcher and the Fire Lord**

_Water Year 1164_

_Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (province of Ba Sing Se)_

A week later, Aang smiles as he locks the door, and he smiles even more as he hears "monk" Ping yelling at the door as he walks back to his desk. He will eat when he _feels_ like it, by the spirits, but he has work to do right now.

He looks over to make sure that he hasn't run out of pills, a small ritual which he performs, almost unconsciously, several times a day, though there's no need for it. His physician makes sure to refill it the moment he hears that Aang is out of his room— similar to how the bowls of fruit and rice and whatever else they're serving him at the time are all switched out as often as possible— and Aang has several days' worth stashed away in various places, besides.

"What if you collapse again, Avatar!?" Ping yells.

Pulling out a drawer, he removed everything he needed for the day's writing, and began to work, writing down one of the discussions he'd had with Gyatso regarding the spirits. It would not only serve to illuminate on the nature of spirits, he decided, but also help to explain some of the views of the Air Nomads regarding them. He had written down quite a few Airbending techniques, but had many more yet to record. Still, he reasoned, he had such a very long time to do it all. Airbenders live very long lives.

More is the pity, isn't it?

"Do I need to go get your doctor, Avatar Aang!? He'll tell you the same thing!"

They generally attached themselves to things, concepts or places, sometimes families. The noble families of the Earth Kingdom first originated over time, as various bloodlines came to the attention of one spirit or another, for whatever reason— spirits were fickle things, and one might attach itself eternally to a family in return for some great favor done for it, or simply because it was bored, or lost a bet with the family. As time went on, there began to be a distinction between those families with spirit patrons, and those without. Till then, they were actually quite like the Water Tribes (whose utter dedication to Tui and La and indifference towards the other spirits may have been much of the reason that they never received much attention from any other spirits).

Was there a connection between the four nations, and how each of them regarded the spirits, and had been affected by them in the distant past?

"Please! Open up the door!"

_Spirits aren't exactly the friendliest sort_, Aang continued to write, _and so you always have to keep an eye on them_. Aang frowned, realizing that Gyatso really had a talent for using ten words when one would do, because the next two paragraphs that he wrote were all different ways of saying that first sentence. Eventually, though, he got to _You have to remember that there are two reasons, and two reasons only, as to why a spirit does anything. _First of all, any given spirit was bound by one or more laws simply by the fact of their nature. _A spirit of fire, so long as it remains a spirit of fire, can no more avoid burning someone— though that burning may not be just in the physical sense— than a wolf-bat can choose to not carry off a young sheep-dog._ Aang smirks when he remembers asking Gyatso if that qualified as cannibalism. _The second drive that all spirits possess is the desire to be entertained. _

"What if you have an attack!? We won't be able to help you if you lock the door!"

If a spirit becomes bored, it will seek other activities to participate in, but even a moment of boredom does not do well for a spirit. It's much better to make a spirit murderously angry than to let it be bored. At least there's a chance that the spirit will be entertained by its anger. _All spirits are utterly fascinated by emotion, though some hold less appeal than others for a given spirit. _Spirits were more like mirrors, capable of mimicking emotions and feelings but, ultimately, unable to truly possess them except as echoes of what others had experienced. _But don't think that spirits don't feel anything, Aang. It's just that in the same way that they can only really mimic our emotions, we're equally unable to understand how they think and feel. _

"_Please!_ Open up this door! What is wrong!?"

_There is one spirit, whose name is Koh, who is so obsessed with the concept of emotion that he steals the face of anyone he sees displaying emotion. Like all spirits, he has his own place in the world, but many of the few people who are aware of him forget that stealing faces is merely an amusing pastime— a way to spend a few thousand years before it grows dull and repetitive and he moves on to something else. _Aang was never told what it was that Koh did, though, and all things considered, he didn't blame anybody for thinking that stealing faces was Koh's whole act. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what else he had ever heard about the spirit doing.

"You're going to _die_ if you keep this up, Avatar Aang!"

A great deal of the interaction between humans and spirits came about because, to put it simply, spirits found humans to be _interesting_. A sheep-dog does not possess the full range of emotions that a human does, and as much as the spirits have their own emotions, they find those of the flesh to be quite intriguing. _Some believe that spirits don't start out as— _

There's a muttering outside the door, interrupting Aang's thought process as he tries to hear what they're talking about—something along the lines of "He doesn't like it when—" (something or other blah, blah… Aang can't make out the second half) and then the shouting ceases, and a new voice is heard, speaking softly, but firmly. "Could you please open up the door, Aang? I won't let anybody else in." Furious muttering starts up behind the door, going back and forth between two people, but it stops when Aang responds.

"Zuko?"

"Last time I checked."

Aang sighs, and walks over to unlock the door, letting him in. "Thank you," Zuko says, and the door shuts and locks it in Ping's face before the monk can get in.

"So what brought you here, Zuko?" Aang asks, walking back to the chair.

Zuko sits down on the bed, which is just barely elevated above the ground, giving Aang a few inches above the Fire Lord. "I thought it might be a good idea to come and check up on you. Didn't think I should just leave you on your own for years on end. It's only the three of us left, after all."

"Four," Aang corrected. "Katara might be spending most of her time in Maniyok, but I don't really think it's quite fair to include Toph and not her when you're counting up who among us has survived."

Zuko blinked, and then nodded, remembering. "Four. I'm always miscounting," he smiled. "But I felt that I should come and check on you, and see how you're doing."

"Fine. Katara manages to visit once or twice a year. It's amazing how well she gets along with Malu."

"The _Sensu-kata _girl?" Zuko asked.

"She's not a girl anymore, you know."

He'd have to thank her, then. Zuko had been worried that he was the only one with the sense to just play along. You couldn't just make sure not to bring up Katara in a conversation, you _had_ to bring her up every now and then, talking about her as if she were still alive. He'd started to catch on, Zuko thought, a few years ago, before slipping back into his carefully crafted delusion, and the Fire Lord shuddered to think about what Aang would do if he got ripped out of his false world. "How are you doing with the writing?" Much safer to just let him believe she was still alive, and had duties to attend to, in a city called Maniyok and which had never, ever fallen.

Though even at this moment, the city lay in ruins.

Aang looked back at the scroll, and then returned his gaze. "Fine, I suppose. I just feel so… so _tired_."

Zuko nodded in understanding. "Uncle told me a lot about the Avatar, and it's not really all that surprising."

"What do you mean?"

"Spirits aren't like us. They don't think the way people do."

Aang chuckled a little bit. "I was actually just writing about that a short while ago."

"But with the Avatar Spirit… Imagine having to share your soul with something so fundamentally _alien_. It's not the most conducive thing to what I can't really describe as anything other than a healthy soul, but that's not quite the term I'm aiming for. It's like… Well…"

"It's like how I feel," Aang finished.

"Yes. The mind can't deal with the stress, and neither can the soul."

Aang frowned. "I'd already begun to have thoughts along that line."

"Really?" Zuko looked surprised.

"I think we just… _break down_, after time. I don't think we're really even _capable _of lasting for a long time. Just taking the last Cycle's worth into consideration, the record—" Aang smiled sadly, and laughed a little bit.

"The record _sucks_."

"Yeah. How much do you know about my previous lives?" he asked.

"Oh, more than you'd think," Zuko smiled.

"Yangchen, I think, was the worst out of my four latest predecessors." Aang shook his head. "She snapped when her family was massacred, because her enemies couldn't stand a chance at hurting her physically, and then the world had an insane Avatar for five more years, before she died." Aang paused. "She frightens me a little bit, actually."

"Why?"

"What if something like that happened to Katara?" Aang asked. "I don't know what I'd do if she died." The name "Te Kuan" briefly fluttered through Zuko's mind, accompanied by an image of a field of broken Red Rose corpses, but he didn't say anything. "Kuruk just wandered out into a blizzard during one of the times he was searching for Ummi, and he never came back."

"You're skipping over how obsessed he became over her, but I suppose that the whole blizzard thing sums it up pretty well. And then Kyoshi…" Zuko frowned. "Kyoshi lived more than twice as long as any other Avatar. I don't know how far back into history you've looked, but they tend to get killed, or burn out, or whatever, before they hit much higher than ninety."

"I've noticed. And I've noticed how old _I _am, too. Kyoshi has always confused me, though, to tell the truth."

"She lasted so long, in my opinion, because she didn't fight it."

Aang leaned back in the chair, and gave Zuko a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"She didn't try and pretend that she was, you know, all 'person,' so to speak. She acted like a spirit would, if it were in her position. But even that backfired a little bit, I think."

"How? She seemed to last long enough."

"Look at Chin the Conqueror. She didn't make a move against him because as far as she was concerned, he wasn't doing anything to disrupt the balance of the world. If anything, he was actually _helping_, since he was reunifying the Earth Kingdom. But once he made a move against something Kyoshi considered _hers_… That's the end of Chin the Great." Zuko neglected to mention that she was also reminiscent of his sister, in an odd way, and that particular trait the two of them shared had _terrified _the Order of the White Lotus until the Grandmaster of the time realized that she wasn't going to go and kill everybody, which was rather a relief, since some were old enough to still remember Avatar Yangchen, because her successor hadn't lived all too long. Something they generally didn't mention in the histories was how _messy_ it was when Avatar Yangchen died, and how hers wasn't the only funeral ceremony carried out afterwards.

Kyoshi died in bed, but still messily. She shouldn't have killed Chin the Conqueror.

"I think Roku tried to kill himself, even though he wasn't really aware of it."

Now that was something Zuko hadn't considered, but all he really knew about his great-grandfather's death was from what Sozin had written down. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Roku showed me a vision of the day he died. And I don't think he was really so stupid as to think he could take on that volcano. Roku was _old_, and even as the Avatar, his Bending would have been weaker than it had been in his youth. I think he understood that, on a certain level, and saw a way out. His life was pretty good, so far as I could tell from the snapshots he showed me. No major wars, no plagues or massacred relatives, but… He was still tired."

And here Zuko was thinking that his great-grandfather had actually been a bit lucky, all things considered, and had coped pretty well with sharing his soul with something like— well, something like the _Avatar Spirit_.

"You were going to kill me, weren't you?" Aang suddenly asks, almost as if he'd forgotten what they were just talking about.

"Where are you getting all these ideas?" Zuko responded. "The bit with Roku was pretty interesting, maybe even _right_, but why would I want to kill you?"

"When I was fighting General Chung, he told me that you were behind the whole war. And he said that you'd tried to get me killed on various occasions." Aang looked into his eyes, as if staring into Zuko's mind. "I'm not asking about the war. Just _me_. Did you try and kill me? Yes or no is all I need."

Zuko has perfected lying, made it into an art form, developed such a skill in the practice that Azula would be proud to see him say this one word. "No." It is said _perfectly_, with Zuko's eyes looking into Aang's in just the right way, so that it doesn't look like he's avoiding Aang's gaze, but doesn't seem like he's trying to make it look like he's avoiding the eyes, either. His body posture is held in just the right manner, and the tone of his voice is at just the right level.

And perhaps his sister wouldn't be proud, actually, because Aang doesn't buy it for a second. "You forget," he said slowly, "that Toph taught me how to perceive the world like _she_ does. I might not have a natural talent for it like her, but I can tell that you're lying. Just like I sensed that Chung was mostly lying about your involvement in the War of the Rose. But I knew that he was telling the truth about me, or at least he thought he was, and I can tell right now that he was right."

"So what are you going to do now?" Zuko asks. He's been caught off-guard, and there's no way out of this situation. But he knows enough to know Aang isn't so far gone that his vengeance will go beyond killing the Fire Lord. He thanked Agni that Aang was at least completely self-delusional about Katara; he had read those secret histories, and Avatar Yangchen didn't stop at taking vengeance on just the people directly responsible. Avatar Yangchen was mostly like Aang was right now, if a little less responsive, but there were times… Oh, _Agni_, there were times, when people learned the hard way that there was a terrifying side to her. She killed hundreds of people— her family's killers, and _their_ families, and their friends, and people who had made the mistake of being in her line of vision when the illusions went away and she remembered, once again, how many _pieces_ her family had been reduced to. It was only because these incidents seemed to have ended by the time that the Order got to her, that she wasn't put down right away.

_Put down_. As if Avatar Yangchen had been nothing more than a rabid polar bear dog (she was _far_ more dangerous, and perhaps much sicker— did wounds like this pass on with the Avatar Spirit?).

Aang doesn't make a move yet, though, and Zuko lets himself take a slow, cautious breath. Inhale / exhale— still alive? Good. Now do it again.

"Why?" the Avatar asks.

"Why did I try to kill you?" Zuko responds, and Aang nods. "Because… the world needed balance."

"And then, there's _balance_. I've always wondered why you'd started to say that so often, once the war had started. But I thought I'm here so that there will be balance in the first place. So wouldn't killing me be counter-productive?"

"There's balance," the Fire Lord smiles, "and then there's _balance_. Did Yangchen uphold balance all that well after she snapped? Take a moment to think back, and you'll realize that there was indeed cause to worry. You were my friend, though," he said, "and it was _never_ easy trying to figure out how to kill you."

Aang looks at him curiously, and then sighs. "Why aren't you telling me the whole truth?"

"Because I can't. Whatever else happens, I _can't_ tell you everything."

Aang nods sadly, and glances over at the bowl of fruit on his desk. "Over the years, I've sometimes wondered— _often_ wondered— if it might have been better if you _had_ killed me."

"_Why?_"

"I remember what happened to Katara, sometimes. It's like waking up from a dream, for a few minutes at a time, before drowning in it again and forgetting that there'd ever been a waking world. I remember everybody who died, and that's when I really understand, in more than just an abstract way, that I almost died because you ordered my assassination."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Aang shakes his head, and shrugs. "And in just a short while, this will all slip away, and I won't really remember it. Just bits and pieces here and there, things that don't damage the idea that the world is a lot better than it really is."

"I'm sorry," Zuko says again.

"You..." Aang paused. "You at least really were on our side, right? You weren't helping him at all, were you?"

Zuko knows he doesn't have any time for hesitation.

"Of course."

Aang smiles, and it seems that Aang has lost the touch, or Azula had decided to bless him for a moment, or perhaps he simply didn't care that Zuko was outright lying.

"Can I ask you to perform a favor for me?"

"Of course."

"When I die, can you and Toph make sure to tell my successor everything you can? The Monks at the Air Temple— even Gyatso—were always a bit sparse with the details, and even Roku didn't tell me anything but what I absolutely needed to know. I'd like the next Avatar to know a bit more about me than 'He fought in two wars, ended them both, blah and blah and whatever.' I want her to know what I was really like."

There's a good reason for why he was never told, Zuko knows. So many mistakes have been made, all because one Avatar or another became too knowledgeable about his predecessors. The Fire Lord has killed without thinking, tortured prisoners to relieve his anger, stabbed dear friends again and again until they drowned in their own blood, simply because they found out what he was doing, and he's turned loyal, trusting citizens into brainwashed killing machines. He has ordered the deaths of thousands from the safety of his throne, where he is safely protected from seeing them, so that the ghosts that haunt him in his sleep do not, at least, wear faces. Lies have been told, betrayals made, and a fragile peace was tested to its limits all because of him, and it does not matter if he regrets a single moment of it, because he would do it all again if he could.

Now he adds yet another sin to his already weighty load, and it may be the greatest of them all, for the response he gives Aang is not the one he should give. "Of course, Aang. I'll make sure she knows everything." And, even worse, he means it. He'll answer every question she asks, and more, and he'll turn over every rock just to find another scrap of information about Aang to pass on to his successor.

"You could still do it now," Aang says, and glances back at the fruit bowl. Zuko is about to ask him what he means, what he's talking about, but as he sees a sort of self-awareness flicker in the Avatar's eyes, and begin to fade away and cloud over, he notices something he hadn't before: There is a knife stuck in the fruit. A sharp knife.

Perfect for slitting a throat, Zuko thinks, and he looks back at Aang. "I can't. I stopped trying to kill you years before, because I realized that I _can't_ kill you. You're my friend, my closest friend, and no matter what else I've done, I _can't_. Not to you."

"Right. If you ever change your mind…" Aang trailed off, and looked away for a brief second. "I never told you, mostly because I never let myself think about the dead, but… I'm sorry about..."

"The poison was painless," Zuko responds, and he does not continue on, to say that the fate her killers received had most assuredly _not_ been anything but the most excruciating of agonies. Even Ozai had not suffered as much as they— _was not_, since they were still somewhere in the lowest levels of the Royal Palace, ready to be dragged out and tortured again as he wished it. They'd almost succeeded in killing him, too.

Just a little bit of playfulness, of his wife's occasional ritual of stealing a little bit of his food to annoy him. And then she died, because they hadn't been expecting anyone but him to take a drink (given that the thefts would lead into pretend arguments about the sanctity of the Fire Lord's food and the punishment for stealing it, which would lead into something else _entirely_, they never occurred except in private, given the sort of scandal that might arise otherwise).

"I think I should go," Zuko said suddenly, deciding that his work here was done, and he headed toward the door. Almost the moment it was unlocked, Monk Ping and several others pushed it open and rushed in. There was a flash of a syringe, and Zuko turned around, heading out into the hallway.

Roku wasn't the only Avatar about ready to kill himself.

A cold breeze blew in after Zuko passed through.


	15. Walking Through the Halls

_Review Points: 162 (38 points left)_

**Chapter Fourteen: Walking Through the Halls**

_Water Year 1164_

_Northern Air Temple, The Earth Kingdom (province of Ba Sing Se)_

Days pass like leaves swirling in the wind which Malu never made. Aang thinks that it's been three months since Zuko left, according to the daily notches he secretly makes, but he's not entirely sure he even started the notches before the Fire Lord came, and he's pretty sure he's forgotten to continue making them for some time now. He just added one a few minutes ago, but he had been working on a different scroll then (there's about a hundred of them now, about culture and techniques and beliefs of the Air Nomads) and he's so far on _this _one, and wonders how he wrote so much in what he's pretty sure was such a short time. And hadn't he added one just a few minutes before _that_?

He's had to take more pills lately (earning more lectures from the healer) and some new drug, and he feels all the more addled in the head for it, even though everybody swears that this is a lot better, and that he's healthier than he would be otherwise. Right. Forgive him if he'd rather be dead right now than waking up every four hours in pain and never feeling rested even though he spends at least half the day asleep, and much of the rest either in his chair or bedridden.

They never stop _bothering _him.

Aang takes a deep breath, inhaling through his nostrils, and the air travels down his throat, setting it aflame with raw pain, but it still feels refreshing. This sort of pain is _nothing_, compared to what happens at other times. The agony from his broken chakra, from all the countless wounds he'd received during the Red Rose War, it's all like scorpions and flails relentlessly lashing at his flesh, hurting him so much that he barely realizes it when someone sticks a knife in his gut.

He should have focused on other things. Here he is, with a hundred scrolls (or two hundred— he isn't sure, and did they take some away, to make room for more?) and maybe _twenty _have to do with Airbending. By the time they manage to work through every one he'd written down, whoever was bothering to read the scrolls would have been able to work through to the eighth tier, if they improvised a bit and caught on to what Airbending was about, with a few other techniques of greater skill thrown in there as well (not that most of those would even be performable by the time the others were done). That was all very nice, and perhaps wouldn't even seem all that bad to others, since of the other three Bending Arts, only Firebending took nearly so long to master, and had only twelve degrees. Airbending had— has / had / has (which is it / does it matter?)— _thirty_-_six_ tiers.

Aang knows that he needs to stop this. He's living in denial, really, telling himself that he has so much longer to live, so much more time in which to write everything down, and yet in the next breath he's wishing that he could just die right now. Aang doesn't really understand _why_— Katara is visiting more often now, and Toph is here at the Temple, after having handed off the training of the Che Kof to her earliest students— but he feels so tired. Rundown and stretched and pulled apart and wound round and round until he's snapped. Aang feels like he hasn't slept in days, but perhaps he hasn't— all Aang really remembers of the past while is eating and writing and taking pills like machinework and not quite thinking of anything else, but that's nothing unusual, really. Everything is just a mess of memories, like a thousand pictures of his life, painted down and rearranged in no particular order, and- when did he stand up?

His chest aches, a dull throb, but it's nothing compared to what happens at other times.

He gropes around in the low candlelight of his room for his cloak, finds it, and puts it on. A short wind blows out the candle, and Aang opens up his door and walks into the hall outside. It's so much colder than in his room, but he doesn't give any conscious attention to this. It's just another slit in his throat after the agony of the scorpions. He stumbles a little bit as he goes along, but rights himself and keeps on going.

The time candle in his room had gone off just a minute ago, telling him that it was sometime in the afternoon, but it wouldn't be the first time that he'd spent ten or fifteen minutes or an hour in a daze, as his concentration slips onto something else so thoroughly that not even the passing of the hours is noticeable to him, until his body is wracked with pain again— _That _snaps him out of anything. And he had put the flame out. How many times had he done that before? It can't tell time when it doesn't have a flame (did he even, really, blow it out, or merely make the movements of an old habit?).

It looks to be more between morning (mourning— why the rhyme?) and noon judging by the light from a window he just passed.

Aang wonders if the monks will let him go back to the Southern Air Temple. He hasn't been out of _this _Temple for more than a decade, and he hasn't seen the Southern Air Temple for nearly twice as long. He knows he's going to die soon, and he'd like to be back where it all began. Well, close enough. Where it all began after he was old enough to go to the Southern Air Temple (and if they've done _anything_ to damage Gyatso's room more than The War already had, there will be Enma and the Spirit World to pay).

Surely, they could let him leave, but he doubts they will. All the time now, they're talking about the importance of his health. As if he couldn't be just as healthy in another Air Temple. But they claim that even such a short journey as that might be the death of him.

There's an old man, hair starting to go gray at the edges, playing some sort of game with his grandchildren in one of the courtyards. It looks like some sort of variant of tag— it appears as if there's more than one person designated as "It," and now there's another one, right after the young boy got tapped on the shoulder— and the man moves with surprising agility.

The old man takes a look in his direction, and Aang ducks behind a nearby pillar, scrunching up to keep anything from poking past back into visibility. A long moment passed, and the game continued on. Perhaps the man didn't see him— he did, of course he did, how could he not (he wasn't looking straight at him— of course he was).

Aang doesn't know how long he stands there, concealed behind the pillar, listening to the sounds of the children and their grandfather playing in the light of the courtyard.

How could he have done any different? He couldn't have taken the chance that his son would grow up thinking— _knowing_, really— that his parents were dead. Wasn't it better that it be like this? He hadn't suffered for it, and seemed to be quite happy. He even had grandchildren (Aang's great-grandchildren, not that they'd ever know that) so he must have gotten married at some point (he vaguely remembered attending something, sticking to the shadows and the edge of everything so he wouldn't be noticed, but maybe it was nothing).

His chest hurts, and it's like getting beaten by iron, thrown against a wall.

He can't change anything now (what's done is done, we're paying for what our predecessors did, this was written in stone long before us). Aang has been battling this for decades, arguing against himself so long, but every passing minute lends greater weight to the argument that he should let things be. How could he expect anything to go right, when it's been _decades_ that he's let his son believe the lie he was told?

This can't be changed.

Besides, his son already knows. Aang can tell, with every look he gets from the old man (oh, but Aang is even older, isn't he?). How can he not help but see the resemblance? Shouldn't there have been questions? Why would the Avatar be so interested in him? His son has certainly seen him so many times, flitting back and forth at the edges of his life. Shouldn't he wonder why, and then, just maybe, come to the obvious conclusions? He takes after Katara so much more, thankfully.

It was over. He'd made his decision.

But just _maybe_. If he'd chosen differently. Couldn't he have done something different?

There's a whispering in his heart. It tells him no. It tells him that this has all been determined long before he was born. He knows full well what the whispering is. It's been with him for years, telling him to lie down, and sleep, and pass away. And he is so very _tired_.

There's something else in him, too, something which has been with him longer, but which he knows is _far _younger, and far weaker, and it tells him not to listen to the whispers in his heart. He knows he has to fight it, that he has to persevere, but… he is so _very_ tired.

It sounds like Yangchen, and Roku, and so many others, but compared to the whispering in his heart, it is barely there at all. And he knows that, once (or many times), the voice listened to the whispering, and went down to sleep. So the whispering offers him peace, and the voice is hypocritical.

Aang is tired now. He wants to sit down, to take a rest, but he can't quite manage to force himself to sit down, he doesn't know why, he sways back and forth, exhausted but unable to stop. He's consumed by his thoughts, unaware of much else, he may as well— his heart is heavy in his chest, weighing him down like a rock— be blind.

In the deep of his dreams, he sees so many things, before the pain rips him out, screaming into the dark of the waking world, and chief among them is a man with a wolf-fishy smile and fire in his eyes, who tells him that he can cure Aang's pain. He wants to believe the man, yet the other whisper, a mere murmuring, a babbling creek beside the roar of an onrushing flood, begs him to stay strong. But Aang is _so_ very tired.

"Do not trust the shining star," he whispers. Aang does not feel himself speak, is not conscious of it; it is as if someone else is talking, talking _to_ him, just like that day so very long ago, when he sat obsessing over the masks (obsessing, obsessing, it's just a hobby, ahaha— Aang laughs, and coughs and almost chokes). "The starlight is a lie, the promises he gives are lies, do not trust do not do not not not not—" Aang endlessly repeats, swaying back and forth, barely aware of where he is going, desperate to find someone. Someone needs to hear these words which he himself doesn't quite hear. Someone needs to write them down, so that his successor will hear them, though... why can't he tell his successor himself? "Falling star, drifting star, oh I saw you falling from the sky," he mutters, the words coming from nowhere, but carrying with them great importance (if he could just figure them out, if he could just notice that he was muttering, if… that's what it always is... _If_). "His banner advances, look straight ahead… to see if you can spot him. Come, come again, ye servants of the..."

It is of the utmost importance.

There's a flare of pain, and Aang throws himself backwards, recoiling against the shock of the pain— he's had worse, but this cuts to his heart, and it hurts so _much_— and slams against the wall. Oh, Tian. "Stay away away away… We're sorry sorry hold on long-longer not yet… please…"

He's barely aware of this. He can't stop thinking about what's been happening (what's happened, it's happened so long ago, and he can't change it, it's too late, too late, oh please Tian please _stop _this, let him sleep, let him rest) but still his hands reach for the pills, grabbing them, the pocket tears as his arm jerks in pain, and they scatter across the floor and he can't pick them up.

"Help me," he doesn't whisper. He doesn't have the breath for it anymore, and even if he did, the words wouldn't have come out, for his throat is consumed by a silent scream while a thousand old fairy tales and nursery rhymes play across his ears, and he doesn't understand any of it, but he knows, he _knows_ that he has to, and they're slipping away like water through his fingers, popping like bubbles as he tries to touch them, understand them.

As his vision fades, he hears the thump-thump-thump of footsteps racing down the corridor (or is it just his heartbeat, racing, racing, racing, and he's so tired, why can't it stop?).

The dawn is coming in the eye of his mind, but it's not an uplifting thing. It's a terrible light, blinding in its radiance, and carrying with it the knowledge that the brightest lights do not simply illuminate, but _burn_. And, of course, the deepest shadows are always cast by the brightest of lights.

Ozai, he who declared himself the Phoenix King of the world, was right about one thing: A new world is coming, born out of the ashes of the old one, just as it has come four times before, out of smoking ash, and shrieking wind, and rumbling earth, and raging flood. Ashes all of different natures, and now ashes of the spirit, of the soul, burning, burning... Swirling ever downward, settling upon the ground, as the world fades away without so much as a whimper.

Aang struggles to hold on, but the whispering in his heart continues, piercing through the storm of pain and confusion, drowning out the other whispers, offering him solace. All it asks is that he sleeps, and Aang _is_ so very tired. He could sleep through a world dying in ash and blood, and never move for three hundred years.

The monks scream for a healer as two becomes a crowd, and the frantic whispering of the confused and frightened spreads like a wildfire.

* * *

**A/N **Don't worry folks. There's still some more after this. Oh, and there is a VERY important poll up. Please answer the poll. Feel free to combine answers, too. Spirits might only be vulnerable in the physical world, but also need to feed on certain things, or they might be vulnerable only to weapons made of coldforged iron, but have this vulnerability regardless of what world they're in, and then can also be destroyed by forcing them to go against their "natures."


	16. Continue On

And so, lying upon the floor, Aang died (for he _was_ so very tired, and is no longer, and is no longer, either)

"_I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu if you don't mind! Zuzu! You don't look so good!"_

—_Azula_

**End of Part Three**

"_Without you, all my plans are suddenly possible. I have a vision for the future, Roku."_

—_Fire Lord Sozin_

**End of The Aftermath: Aang's Book. **

* * *

_All the Myriad Faces: Nini's Book _will be up in three weeks. Please add me to your Author Alerts.

I had originally been planning on being able to update each Book right after the last one, but I've recently been getting chased by thing nasty thing called "Real Life," and so I'm running out of free time. Most of it is now consumed by trying to get a new job, studying for the CLEP, and similar things.

I am very, very sorry.

**CREDITS**

I'd like to thank Mr. Ogro for acting as beta for this story.

Certain people have also graciously allowed me to use some of their ideas, and both they and their ideas are listed below:

_Hotspur _developed the name Azariya for the story _If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them_, and Zuko's son Azariya was in fact named for him, in what will become a family tradition of naming the firstborn (the heir, to be precise) after a long-dead individual, and all the others after close family_. _Expect to see him again if I ever do a Kyoshi-era fic. _Hotspur _also created Fire Lord Fudo and his daughter, Hiashi, for the story _Child's Play_. Unfortunately, I'm not going to include them in the _CoOP _universe, since I find it too odd that in a set of twins one child would be named after the daughter of the other's namesake. Rather, the names come from a different family tradition. I've decided that twins run in Mai's family, and they typically give them the names Fudo and Hiashi (which are gender-neutral, though each of them do lean closer to one gender or the other).

_Lowcarbtortilla _developed the idea of a Firebending-suppressing drug in the story _Hasbeen. _

It was only after reading _Mousecat_, by _Heligoland_, that I wondered if Azula would actually find war to be rather wasteful, seeing as how it would only kill off people she could otherwise control. As you've seen, Azula didn't have anything to do with the war, but the idea can still be applied to other people, and at any rate I've not yet said if Azula is dead...

_Jakia_ put forth the theory that Long Feng is a brainwashed Lu Ten, in _Resistance is Futile_. Yes, they both use different forms of Bending, but the concept is still canon regardless. (That's a free clue, by the way, and this peculiarity of Bending is actually Mike-and-Brian-canon, too). I'm not going to say whether I used this idea in the end, or went with "Ozai hired someone to kill Lu Ten," though. I'll just say that one of those two is true.

_Redandblackbeads _came up with the idea of using Energybending as a form of punishment in _Spiritbender. _As you can see, much of what occurs within that story was used in the corresponding scene in _The Aftermath. _

_AvocadoLove _wrote a story called _The Uncle and Son Trip_, which I was planning on placing references to. Despite the fact that I didn't, I'm still counting it as canon for the _CoOP _universe, so I suggest you read it if you want to get into CoOP!Zuko's head a little better.

"The cake is a lie" is, of course, taken from the game _Portal_, which is yet another game I've never played yet know far, _far _too much about. I really have no idea why I was unable to resist putting that in. I will, however, make sure that cakes feature, if not prominently, then at least to a degree. There will be cakes offered, of various kinds, and each one carries with it a meaning of its own. Cakes offered for peace, or as part of a traditional marriage proposal, and cakes as a sign of friendship. Cakes feature very prominently in the culture of the Fire Nation, if for no other reason than the need to actually make "The cake is a lie" a relevant phrase, and offer many possibilities as to _which _cake is the "lie." Though cakes of various sorts _do _have their place in Eastern cultures, so I'm not going to be entirely making everything up. See mooncakes (and suncakes) at Wikipedia.

I've asked other people about elements of their stories, and I'd like to take a moment to say that while those things didn't appear in this story, they will appear at some point in the future. And if I've forgotten to mention a contribution or reference, please tell me. My email system had gotten screwed up a few months ago, and I might have lost one of them.

While I haven't yet written everything out yet, this series is currently going to end up rather creepy, and edge toward the horror genre, in my opinion. By the fourth story, _Setting with the Sun: Illah's Book_, the Spirit World is pretty out of whack. I'd always imagined that there was going to be a spirit called Eater-of-Eyes in that story, and it might explain a bit about the nature of the book by saying that, after listening to a remix of _This is Halloween_ by RedFearTV, that spirit is now on the low end of the creepy/horrifying spectrum. I rather suspect that by the time I'm done writing her scenes, I'm going to have my dreams plagued by The Little Girl for some time.

I'm explaining this for two reasons. First, if you don't like horror or creepy things or whatever, you might not want to continue. The two books leading up the _Setting with the Sun_ won't be all that bad, but there will be some mindscrew points (especially some bad encounters with Koh) and at any rate you might find it less irritating to stop reading a series after the first story than when you're three-quarters of the way done. Secondly, I'd like some input from you readers as to what sort of things scare you.

The horror element in _Setting with the Sun _isn't going to be a slasher-movie, buckets of blood, gory-type. It's going to be a more cerebral, don't-look-behind-you, there's-something-in-the-dark kind of horror. Most horror stories nowadays get you scared by having somebody die suddenly. While some people _will _be dying in the story, I'd like the fear to be something more. There'll be a sense of fear not because the thing is right there doing it's horrifying deed (chopping somebody's head off or eating him or whatever it is they do in B-movies nowadays) but because it _might _be there. _Psychological _horror. To that end, I'd like some ideas for spirits. They can be fully-detailed descriptions, or just snippets. Eater-of-Eyes grew from the idea of a giant crow, and evolved from there into a fully-fledged character with centuries of history, while the Little Girl grew from a screenshot from _When They Cry- Higurashi. _Which is something else I'll be watching as I write _Setting with the Sun_, since I've heard that while a good deal of the horror is visceral, even more of it is psychological.

For the curious, a link to the remix is now on my profile. And if you haven't checked out the _Whistling Wolf_ song linked from my profile, do so now. If you don't mind getting addicted to it. (And don't you dare say "That wolf is so spicy," either). I've been listening to it nonstop while writing _Nini's Book_.

_End Author Rant. _


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